G R O W B Y L E A R N I N G[3] January March 2008

GROW BY LEARNING

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Contents

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Friday, January 04, 2008

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JOHN NEWTON

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ROANOKE BAPTIST TEMPLE





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SHOULDA, COULDA, OR WOULDAEither your past is serving as a springboard to a better tomorrow, or it is the proverbialalbatross keeping you from moving forward today." Les Parrott III,

The year before our eyesJ.C. Philpot*As your days—so shall your strength be."Deuteronomy 33:25* The year before our eyes may hold in its bosom,events which maydeeply concern and affect us.We do not know what is to come. What personal trials, whatfamily trials, what providential trials may await us—we do not know. Every year hithertohas brought its trials in its train; and how can we expect the coming year to be exempt? -Sickness may attack our bodies, death enter our families, difficulties beset ourcircumstances, trials and temptations exercise our minds, snares entangle our feet, andmany dark and gloomy clouds, make our path one of heaviness and sorrow. If, indeed,we are His, whatever our trials may be—His grace will be sufficient for us. - He who hasdelivered—can and will deliver.And He who has brought us thus far on the road, who hasso borne with our crooked manners in the wilderness and never yet forsaken us—thoughwe have so often forsaken Him—will still lead us along; will still guide and guard us, andbe our God, our Father and our Friend—not only to the end of the next year, if spared tosee it, but the end of our life. - Blessed with His presence—we need fear no evil; favoredwith His smile—we need dread no foe; upheld by His power—we need shrink from notrial; strengthened by His grace—we need panic at no suffering. - Knowing what we areand have been when left to ourselves—the slips that we have made, the snares that wehave been entangled in, the shame and sorrow that we have procured to ourselves—wellmay we dread to go forth in the coming year alone. -Well may we say, "If Your Presencedoes not go with us—do not send us up from here!" Exodus 33:15Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 05:53AM (-06:00)

Friday, January 04, 2008DEFINITIONS OF INTERESTED*1. A Christian is one who has saving faith in the biblicalLord Jesus Christ. True saving faith has hallmarks set forth in Scripture.-2. A trueChristian church is a fellowship of individual believers who have saving faith in the biblicalLord Jesus Christ. A true Christian church has certain hallmarks set forth in Scripture.-3.By Scripture, I mean the accepted canon of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation, notincluding the Apocrypha, nor any other writings purported by others to be Scripture.*

HETERODOX

• Heterodoxy includes "any opinions or doctrines at variance with an official ororthodox position".[1] As an adjective, heterodox is used to describe a subject as"characterized by departure from accepted beliefs or standards" (status quo). Thenoun heterodoxy is synonymous with unorthodoxy, while the adjective heterodox issynonymous with dissident.

• The term heterodox is occasionally used by some Christians to refer to themselveswhen they are in disagreement with orthodox understandings, but voice thisdisagreement while still maintaining the overall value of the tradition. The heterodoxChristian therefore remains in the tradition and attempts to stimulate constructivedialog around issues with which they disagree.

• Contrary to or differing from some acknowledged standard, especially in church 9

doctrine or dogma; unorthodox. Holding unorthodox opinions or doctrines.

A movement where any concession to orthodoxy is surprising relief to our ears.• That statement ought to be framed in neon lights. It is precisely what we need to

watch in ourselves as we encounter the theology and yes, dialogue, of thismovement.

• Think dialectic process and you'll see what I mean. Thesis, antithesis, synthesis.Then we begin all over again.

"dialogue with some of the more thoughtful old-line fundamentalists would probably be athousand times more fruitful for mainstream evangelicals than playing footsie withpostmodern fads."

A new year where we focus on the race before us, not yestersday victory or loses.

charles

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Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 08:18PM (-06:00)

Saturday, January 05, 2008MAKING 2008 A BETTER YEAR FOR CHRISTAs we mark the 300th anniversary of the birth of Jonathan Edwards, let's consider a fewof the resolutions that guided Edward's ministry:Being sensible that I am unable to do any thing without God's help, I do humbly intreathim by his grace to enable me to keep these resolutions, so far as they are agreeable toHis will, for Christ's sake.

1. Resolved, That I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God's glory, and my owngood, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration.

2. Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty, and most for the good andadvantage of mankind in general.

3. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many and how greatsoever.

4. Resolved, Never to lose one moment of time, but improve it the most profitable wayI possibly can.

5. Resolved, Never to do any thing, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the lasthour of my life.

6. Resolved, To be endeavoring to find out fit objects of charity and liberality.7. Resolved, To maintain the strictest temperance in eating and drinking.8. Resolved, Never to do any thing, which if I should see in another, I should count a

just occasion to despise Him for, or to think any way the more meanly of Him.9. Resolved, To study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly and frequently, as that I

may find, and plainly perceive myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.10. Resolved, To strive to my utmost every week to be brought higher in religion, and

to a higher excercise of grace, than I was the week before.11. Resolved, To ask myself at the end of every day, week, month and year, wherein I

could possibly in any respect have done better.12. Resolved, Frequently to renew the dedication of myself to God, which was made at10

my baptism, which I solemnly renewed, when I was received into the communion ofthe church; and which I have solemnly re-made this twelfth day of January, 1722-3.

13. Resolved, Never hence-forward, till I die, to act as if I were any way my own, butentirely and altogether God's.

14. Resolved, I will act so as I think I shall judge would have been best, and mostprudent, when I come into the future world.

15. Resolved, Never to give over, nor in the least to slacken my fight with mycorruptions, however unsuccessful I may be.

16. Resolved, After afflictions, to inquire, what I am the better for them, what good Ihave got by them, and what I might have got by them.

Jonathan Edwards was a serious man. He took his faith serious. He wanted Christ togovern his life and ministry. As a young man of 19 he was serious about personalspiritual growth, and physical temperance and matters of atttiude, and happiness ofheaven. He set down a addressed ways he would live his life.

Edwards was America's greatest theologians and a most devout pastor.

Your theology will lead you to your behaviour.

http://www.apuritansmind.com/ChristianWalk/ResolutionsOfJonathanEdwards.htm

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Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 06:49AM (-06:00)

Sunday, January 06, 2008WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE WISE?

What does it take to be wise? Watching Dr. Phil, reading Brittney Spears mother's bookon parenting, or looking into the yellowbook.com, or is there another way?In a television commercial for online yellow pages, actor David Carradine plays a guru toa young seeker. (Sorry a side note: Kung Fu 1972, or Kill Bill 2004) When the studentasks, "How do I find enlightenment?" the master says, "Yellowbook.com .. . Everyone issearching for something . . . After all, it is a material world, and with yellowbook.com, youjust type in what and where."The ad is insightful. Wisdom does involve the practical use of knowledge to get what weare looking for. The commercial is also right in suggesting that wisdom is moreaccessible than many of us might have thought. - The culture will always be looking formaterial wisdom to gain more money. Fox News has a network on how to gainknowledge of how to make more money. The world wants knowledge of how to gain theupper hand on Wall Street. - The Christians should seek knowlege on the Christian life,how to become like Christ. Proverbs.com is a good place to start. When I was pastor ofFirst Baptist Church in Altoona Kansas, Proverbs was the book I loved to teach the most.I have three three-ring binders of notes from that study. A lot of the material came frommy friend Bill Rinehart who I had known from Wooster, Ohio. He had done a completestudy of Proverbs and had a great set of notes. - Early in my childhood, mom and dadwould read daily with Don and me from the book of Proverbs. We had a dose of Proverbsfor years as a youth. There is no better book that you could buy that would do what thebook of Proverbs would do. - Proverbs has thirty one chapters, reading a chapter a day 11

would keep most Dr.'s away. We seek wisdom for living life by seeking to know God'sblueprint for living. Dr. Phil might have some good advice for the secular world, and hedoes have a desire to help others. But Dr. Phil is not the first resource that we should turnto for handing life's situtation. Notice that those on the program already have theprob;ems. Britney Spears' mother who wrote a book on parenting could have usedProverbs. com. as the main source of instruction for mom's and dad's. But she was toomuch into making her child desire to have money and a life style like the culture. - We willlook into this book of Proverbs this year and see the wisdom that is taught. Stay tuned. -Charles E. Whisnant 5


Tuesday, January 08, 2008WHAT PASTORS NEED TO REMEMBER^Well, I am not a pastor these days, but still have the pastor's heart. Ray Pritchardsermon had some good comments on things pastors need to remember from ChristianityToday. I will also next time, list some things pastors need to remember when you pastoryour first church. "NO ONE TOLD ME THIS"

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Ecclesiastes 7:19-22: "Wisdom makes one wise man more powerful than ten rulers in acity. There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins. Do notpay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you--or youknow in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others."

Seminary is wonderful but you can't learn everything there. The year I graduated fromseminary, Christianity Today published a humorous column called "Things They Didn'tTell You at Your Seminary Graduation." It was subtitled "Some aphorisms for the brand-new pastor." I cut it out and saved it, and after all these years, I still have my copy, fadedand worn, because the wisdom it contains seems timeless to me. Here are a few bits ofadvice from the column (with a few of my personal comments):

*If you don't know what you're doing, do it neatly. (Not one of my strong points)

*If you can't tell a joke, don't. (A really wise piece of advice)

*When you visit the hospital, don't sit on the bed or discuss your operation.

*Leave your German shepherd at home when you go to the Sunday School picnic.

*Take your German shepherd when you go to the local ministerial association.*Alwaysremember to take the offering before the sermon.

*Don't be late for wedding or funerals. (They didn't mention this in seminary)

*Fifty-one Sundays of the year, preach so that the youngest child in your congregationcan understand you. The fifty-second Sunday, preach so that the Ph.D, the Th.D, theEd.D, and the M.D. are bewildered, awestruck, or filled with wonderment. (Good advice if12

you can do it)

*If a businessman phones you at 10:30 AM on Wednesday morning and says, "Pastor, Ihope I didn't get you out of bed," don't become paranoid. Just answer, "No, you didn't.But come on over anyway after you're dressed and my wife will fix some breakfast foryou." (I never used this line, but I wish I had.)

*When people comment on your sermon as they're going out the church door, don't takethem very seriously. (Very true)*There are limits to participation in community life. Youdon't need to prove yourself by taking part in the annual rodeo.

*Love the teenagers in your congregation and they'll love you. The same is true of youngadults, middle-age adults, and elderly adults.

*Most old people will love you even when you goof. Maybe more then. (Amen)

*Never surprise the chairman of your board. (Double amen)

*Remember that being a pastor is like being the lead dog in a team of Alaskan huskies.You're the only one who has a view and can see the horizon. So tell them what's like


Thursday, January 10, 2008CHARITY'S MOTHER LENORA TEMPLE PASSED AWAYCharity's mother Lenora passed away January 09, 2008 Wednesday Evening around 7p.m. She is with the Lord today, and our hearts are sad, and we hurt for the loss. Shewas surrounded with her family, her husband, Bob, her children Charity, Debbie and Roband his wife Ileana. Also Kindra Tumbleson and Lenora's friend Lorene Waters. A specialthanks to Jackie White who was the special nurse and friend in Lenora's last hours.Special thanks for Pastor Paul Gibson coming to pray with the family. The funeral will beSaturday at Victory Baptist Church. Lenora was 76 and her birthday was Jan 4.-We had a wonderful Christmas family gathering, all the children, grandchildren were inand we had a wonderful time together. Charity, Debbie and Rob her children; Eric andLeslie, Becky, Chad (Heather) and Kyle Whisnant, and Randy Blevins, and Robbie(Amber) Temple. All the special gifts the kids and grandkids gave Lenora were special toher. She would have a smile on her face.-Lenora was at home this whole last month, she was not on any pain medicine until thelast hours of her life. Charity and Debbie and Rob were with their dad and Lenora all dayWednesday. Lenora actually walked with the help of Bob and Rob to the couch onTuesday. The doctors had given her a month to live, and she passed away in that monthtime, but she was at home with her husband of fifty-five years.-In this experiences we saw how God's grace gives strength and grace in the time ofdeath. We saw Lenora dying before our eyes, daily she was slowly dying, but during thiswhole time, she was really at peace. She never complained, even though she must havebeen in pain with her back. She would want Bob to get her out of bed and into the LivingRoom couch and she would lay there to visit wiith family and friends.-Charity and Debbie and Rob would make sure Bob and Lenora had something good toeat each evening. The kids (the old kids I might add) have taken good care of theirmother in a special way since April.- 13

Thanks to all of you for your prayers and concern for Lenora and Bob and the wholefamily during this time.-La yaCharles and Charity Whisnant-Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 07:32AM (-06:00)

Friday, January 11, 2008THE FOUR-EPIC BIOGRAPHY-A FOUR-DIMENSIONAL STORY OF THE BELIEVER

WHAT I BELIEVE LENORA TEMPLE (CHARITY'S MOTHER) KNOWS KNOW INHEAVEN TODAY.

^

PART ONE

In the case of every believer, there is a four-epic biography, a four-dimensional story, tobe told about everyone who belongs in the kingdom of God.

The apostle Paul identifies those four great epics in II Thessalonians, chapter 2. Let meread what he says,

• “We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord.”Now, he’s writing to a church, a congregation-we don’t know how large thatcongregation was- but it was perhaps a hundred, perhaps a little more than that.He’s writing to a group of people and he basically describes their biography and it’sthe same. He says,

• “Brethren beloved, God from the beginning chose you for salvation throughsanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by ourgospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Now I know Lenora Temple was a minister's wife. Her husband Bob Temple, Sr. is aFundamental KJV Baptist, pastor, preacher, minister, and Bible teacher, now for overforty plus years, and her son in law (that's me) is a minister. Today Lenora knows whather husband preached is true. And she will know that her son in law's doctrine of electionis true too. So often Lenora would hear Bob and I speak about the wonderful work of Godin creation, and in the wonderful gift of His Son Jesus Christ.

That before the foundation of the world, God had a plan, 2 Timothy 1:9 "before timebegan." when there were no angels and there were no humans, God the Fatherdetermined to give a love gift.

Part two later.

Viewing of Lenora will be from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Roger W. Davis Funeral Home in WestPortsmouth, Ohio 1310 Third Street.

Thanks for all the e mails.


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Saturday, January 12, 2008THE PROCESS OF LOSING A LOVED ONE^Lenora Faye Temple of McDermott, Ohio, went to be with the Lord on January 9, 2008 athome. She was born in New Boston, Ohio, on January 4, 1932, a daughter of the lateFrank and Leatha Hale Lemaster.Lenora was married to Robert (Bob) Temple on July 2, 1952 at North Moreland Church inPortsmouth Ohio by Minister Alonzo FergusonShe was a charter member of Victory Baptist Church in West Portsmouth, Ohio. In 1968,she and her husband Bob opened La Pizzeria in West Portsmouth (later, the name waschanged to Lenora’s Mex-Itali Restaurant.) She was a member of the Southern OhioRestaurant Association and Ohio State Restaurant Association. Then in 1997, shestarted Union Mills Confectionery in West Portsmouth. In 2002, they sold the restaurantand retired.Surviving are her husband of 55 years, Robert E. Temple, Sr. of McDermott, OH;daughter, Charity Mucha Whisnant and her husband Charles of Portsmouth; daughter,Debra Temple Blevins of McDermott, OH; and a son, Robert (Rob) E. Temple, Jr. and hiswife Ileana, of Lucasville, OH; and her sister, Nelle Sonner and her husband Charles, ofChockawinity, NC; eight grandchildren, Eric Whisnant and his wife, Leslie, of Lexington,KY; Becki Whisnant Robertson of Hutchinson, KS; Randy Blevins of Pickerington, OH;Chad Whisnant of Lexington, KY; Robert (Robby) E. Temple III of McDermott, OH; KyleWhisnant of Lexington, KY; and Graciela and Carlos Gamboa of Costa Rica; sister-in-law, Pauline Lemaster of Chillicothe, OH; and Brother-in-law, Willard McFarland ofPortsmouth, OH.She was preceded in death by her parents; infant sister, Gladys Rosella; her firsthusband, Lloyd Mucha; sister, Betty Gullett and her husband, George, Brother R. T.Lemaster; and sister Mae McFarland.Funeral Services will be 2:00 PM Saturday January 12, 2008, at Victory Baptist Church inWest Portsmouth, OH, with Pastor Paul Gibson officiating. Burial will be in Scioto BurialPark at McDermott, OH. Friends may call at the Roger W. Davis Funeral Home in WestPortsmouth, OH, o n Friday from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM and at the church from 1:00 PMu n t i l t h e f u n e r a l h o u r . C o n d o l e n c e s m a y b e s e n t t oh t t p : / / w w w . r o g e r w d a v i s f u n e r a l h o m e . c o m /^

Last night the family had another time to remember Lenora Temple (Charity's mother).Tradition has a time for friends and family to gather together to have a time ofremembering the loss of one we love, and paying respect to the spouse and family of theone who has died. How often we see folks we haven't seen in years, and we have tocatch up with ten or twenty years of news. And often we do not recognize who our friendsof twenty years are. Do we change or what? We had a chance last night to visit with oldfriends and new friends as well. We looked at the flowers and quilts that friends sent toexpress their love for Lenora and Bob.

Of course, I am looking at this from my perspective, which is what we all do. We wereable to take pictures which is good, Heather is so good at taking pictures, she has thisability to take pictures while you are not even aware of her doing it. I wish I had the abilityto put these picture's on this blog, but I am needing an upgrade to accomplish this feat.

I would like to thank Mrs. Davis and Scott and the staff at Roger W. Davis Funeral Home, 15

they accomplished a beautiful and wonderful atmosphere for the family. They really havethe ability to make the family feel good and comfortable. They did wonderful in preparingLenora for viewing. They did a nice project with the picture video of Lenora's life. Theyaccomplished a task that sometimes goes unnoticed, but they do it so well. ThanksRoger W. Davis Staff. And this was only yesterday. They have a big task today.

Following the visitation time, the family went back to the house, and Mex-i-Itali via Timand SherriWheeler supplied us with all the food for the evening meal. We are so gratefulfor Tim and Sherri. They bought the restaurant from Bob and Lenora five years ago, andhave really kept the tradition going - good food and a good place to work. And they stillsupport missions. They are both Christians and have a love for the Lord, their church,and our family.

The family gathered with Bob at the home, and had a good time of eating, and talkingabout the life of Lenora. Of course as a son-in-law, I could say a few things, but thatwould not count. Lenora now knows, I hope, that I am a sinner saved by God's gracealone, and I love her beautiful daughter and grandkids. { Oh, I need to get back to theoriginal purpose of this post. Well later.} Bob told a story on Lenore, that I would like torepeat, but at this time I don't remember it. He said that now that she is in Heaven, shewouldn't get mad if he told it. I might get the other family members to write some storiesabout Lenora and put them on this blog later.

I also want to thank Arlington Baptist College and the Mission for sending out e-mailabout Lenora. Charity and I were pleasantly surpised to receive a number of e mails fromlost (time) friends. Barbara Wimm, Bonnie Winters, Barbara Wilkins, Larry Wilson, Geneand Jeanie Hutton, and Kent Bird, old friends from Seminary days. Boy, they were thedays. Uh guys! You are now on my mailing list.....

It's also nice to receive condolence from former young people from our past churchministry (Connersville Ind.) And from friends in our church in Altoona. Friends whileCharity I and were in Lexington Ky. And from family who were not able to come. Andfamily who are able to come. Boy this has been nice to hear from all these wonderfulfriends and we hope to keep up via e mail, at least. Thank you all who have written, andupdated us on what you are doing. It's great, thanks, again.

Charity and I are deeply touched and blessed at this time to have your prayers.

Part twoTHE FOUR-EPIC BIOGRAPHY-A FOUR-DIMENSIONAL STORY OF THE BELIEVERWHAT I BELIEVE LENORA TEMPLE (CHARITY'S MOTHER) KNOWS KNOW INHEAVEN TODAY.I will work on after the services this afternoon.

The service for Lenora Temple will be today at Victory Baptist Church, in WestPortsmouth, Ohio, Pastor Paul Gibson will have the service. And I will address morefollowing the service later this afternoon.

Charles/Charity Whisnant

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Sunday, January 13, 2008This poem is dedicated to Lenora Temple. The best Grandma a Grandchild could beblessed with. I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you.

Thank YouBy: Chad Whisnant

I want to take this time to say thank you.If you see tears they are not sad onesbut happy thoughts of you.

Thank you for loving us as only a Grandma can.Thank you for Christmas and Birthday cardseach year from Grandpa and Gram.

You and Grandpa gave me my first job.Now look at me all grown up and I have a great job.

Thank You for all the endless meals at Lenoras' Mex-Itali.You even named a meal for each of us like Chili Chad andBecky's Basgetti.

I know now that you are in a Beautiful Place.Even more beautiful now that it has your face.

Most of all I thank you for having the lady who becamemy Mother Charity Faye.Thank you for showing us the meaning of Faitheach and every day.

Once again I say thank you for all you and Grandpa have done.Thank you from ALL who love you, and Me your Grandson.

In Loving Memory of Lenora Faye Temple

Chad WhisnantGeneral Manager Holiday Inn ExpressHotel & Suites Downtown Lexington, KYPosted by Charles E. Whisnant at 08:18PM (-06:00)


The Character of a FamilyÔur daughter Becky visited with Lenora on Christmas, she spend several days with us 17

and was able to visit with her grandmother. Becky lives in Hutchenson Kansas and has totravel to Kansas City to fly out, then come to Columbus then to Portsmouth. Beckywanted to come back for the funeral, but her mother and I felt it was best for us, with theweather and time schedule and the pressure of getting her back to the airport, etc. thatshe would just remember the good time she had with Lenora at Christmas. The imortantthing I believe is she was able to visit with Lenora when she was alive. -If I had the ability to sum up the experience of losing a loved one who has died, and thereaction of the family in the process, and how the extended family and communityreacted would be a wonder -The Senior Member of this family is Bob Temple, Sr. He is the root and the rock of theTemple clan. When I started Seminary in 1966 Bob had just finished Seminary in 1966.Then in 1969 I married his daughter Charity. So for 38 years I have been in the family. -From our perspective of living life, it is to be lived as a believer in Jesus Christ, and asmuch as Christ would live. This is called being a Christian. One who lives, breaths, acts,and obeys the Lord Jesus Christ. The focus that we want others to see in us, is a love forthe Lord in all we do. We are not all about going to Sunday School and Worship Serviceson Sunday, Sunday Night and Wednesday Nights. To us its about 24/7 full time Christ-like living. -It’s always been about "growing in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ." It’s alwaysbeen "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: andthe life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me andgave himself for me." For Bob it’s been about family, and it’s been about ministry ofpreaching, and it’s been about shepherding those whom the Lord has given him.For Bob he would take the family to Philippians 4, and he would have Charity to readverses four to 8.

• Rejoice in the Lord always;, and again I say, rejoice. Let your moderation be knownunto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing (don’t worry aboutanything) but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let yourrequests be made known unto God. And the peace of God which passeth allunderstanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally,brethren, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever thingslovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be anypraise, think on these things." In the KJV version always for over forty years.

If I am correct, Lenora was at the side of Bob for fifty-five years. Charity and I were inministry away from Portsmouth for over thirty years. In the thirty-five years they had Mex-Itali and the years they were at Victory Baptist, Portsmouth Baptist, they both were sideby side. I have not seen or heard anything about them that would suggest that they havewavered from their love for Christ, family and ministry.

So how are they going to respond in a death of a loved one? Just like they have lived inthe past fifty-five years. To the glory of the Lord. You are going to react today in themanner that you have become over the time of your life.

The Temple clan, the Lemaster clan, the Sonner clan, the Mucha clan, the Whisnantclan, the Gullette clan, seems to be a strong lineage. And they were together whenLenora passed away last week.

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Posted by Charles E. Whisnant, proof read by Charity Whisnant Jan 14, 2008

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Wednesday, January 16, 2008GO REST HIGH ON THE MOUNTAIN^The family arrived at Victory Baptist Church, WestPortsmouth, Ohio, for the memorial service for Lenora Temple, Charity's mother,Debbie's and Rob's mom. By the time we arrived, the church was just about full ofpeople. The viewing was for an hour before the service, and many were coming andleaving, because the church was full. By 2 p.m. chairs were being set up for the people tosit.-The tone was set for the entire service with the whole congregation singing together"What A Day That Will Be."Then the reading of Lenora'a family and life. Tim and JennyPalla sang "It Is Well With My Soul.". They sung two songs. Then Loretta Benner played"When They Ring Those Golden Bells For You And Me." Bob said he was about to get upand lead singing. Pastor Paul Gibson spoke and I am trying to get his outline, becausethe Lord used him to minister to us, the family and those who were present.-Following theservice, as you know folks come by the body and give their last respect. Well this time,one young lady could not resist to hug Bob who was sitting on the front seat, right ofLenora. And following that hug, the whole crowd of people followed suit and came andhugged Bob, Randy, Debbie, Rob, Ily, Charity and myself. (I had two substitutes Eric andChad). This took some time, since there were some four hundred people in the church.Many folks left, but many came by and hugged Bob, etc.-Then we left the church andwent to the Scioto Burial Park. High on the Mountain. Paul Gibson again was very goodin his message to us. Lenora's body was laid to rest.-Victory Baptist Church peopleprovided food for the family, and friends, and we are deeply grateful for all the work themembers put forth.]-Finally we all came out to the Temple's home, and had a time offellowship and eating. And Bob was able to tell a few stories that he had kept until Lenorahad passed away. "The Driving Down the Golf Cart Path." I might see if I can get thiswritten down.

• All the family of Nelle, Lenora's sister, and husband Chuck, their two marriedchildren, David and Debbie (Benner) with Jessica and Melanie, and Brenda and herhusband Terry Euton, and Nicholas and Nikki, and Ashley) Goodness what a nicefamily.

• Of course our family (Charity's family). Debbie and her son Randy. Rob and hiswife Ileana, and son Robby.

-&Special thanks again to the Lillian Davis, Scott Davis, T.J. Adkins, Gary Meade, SteveSowkulech who were so helpful to the family at the Memorial Service.-Charles E.Whisnant, and Charity F. Whisnant-Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 07:18AM (-06:00)

Thursday, January 17, 2008A LESSON I WOU LD USE AT THE HOME GOING OF A BELIEVER În the case of every believer, there is a four-chronology biography-there is a four-magnitude story to be told about everyone who belongs in the kingdom of God.part oneb^Lenora Temple^ Â portrait of the redeemed saints in glory doing what God designed for them to do from 19

before the foundation of the world and that is to praise and glorify and honor His Son.

Now I know that Bob is a fundamentalist, Baptist preacher but he also is one who lovesthe Word of God --.and one who loves the King James Bible.

This might be a little strange to Lenora if she were her alive today, but since she is inHeaven she is having a good time with those who have gone before.

I am sure over the years Lenora has heard what I am about to say, Bob and I have fromtime to time at the dinner table discussed the topic I am about to enter into.There are four great stages in the believer’s life. - 11 Thessalonians 2vs.11-12"But we are bound to give thanks, always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord,because God hath from the beginning CHOSEN you to SALVATION throughSANCTIFICATION of the Spirit and belief in the truth." Whereunto he called you by ourgospel to the obtaining of the GLORY of our Lord Jesus Christ."The apostle Paul identifies those four great epics in II Thessalonians, chapter 2. Let meread what he says, "We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethrenbeloved by the Lord." Now, he’s writing to a church, a congregation-we don’t know howlarge that congregation was but it was perhaps a hundred, perhaps a little more than that.He’s writing to a group of people and he basically describes their biography and it’s thesame. He says, "Brethren beloved, God from the beginning chose you for salvationthrough sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by ourgospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." -Now, there were diverse people in that church with all kinds of different humanbiographies: each of them would have been different and lived a different life in differentcircumstances. But, when it came to their spiritual biography, it was identical and so hecould speak to them collectively and say, "You’ve all come through the same histories,"and here they are: election, justification, sanctification, and glorification. And, in the caseof Lenora Temple, in the case of anybody else who belongs to God, glorification is theculmination of God’s redemptive epics. This is not a sad ending; this is the reason why itall began in the first place. -The Thessalonian believers had some concerns: they were worried about what happenedto Christians who died. That’s sort of the issue lying behind the letter. And Paul, writing tothem, gives a description of the biography of a believer that ultimately answers thatquestion. He says that you don’t have to worry, there is a process going on here. -It begins with election. "God from the beginning chose you." When was the beginning? Ifyou go to Titus, chapter 1, it tells us there that God made this plan "before time began." Itsays the same thing in II Timothy, chapter 1, verse 9, "…before time began." In the bookof Revelation it says the names of believers were written in the Lamb’s Book of Life frombefore "the foundation of the world." -This would be a meager attempt to explain……summing up all of Scripture, let me makean attempt at it. When no creation existed, when there were no angels and there were nohumans, and there was no universe as we know it and there was no earth as we live onit-when there was only God, Trinitarian God, God the Father determined to give a love giftto the Son. Perfect love results in generosity and perfect giving; the love of the Fathersought to be expressed to the Son in a gift. -What would that gift be? By God’s design, He determined before the foundations of theworld, before time began, to give to the Son a redeemed humanity. That’s why, in John 6,Jesus said, "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me." That’s why, in the samechapter, He said, "No one comes to the Father, but by Me, and no one comes to Meexcept the Father draws him." The Father, in an expression of perfect love, said to the20

Son, "I want to show My love to You: I want to give you a redeemed humanity." Why? "Iwant to give you beings who forever and ever and ever will praise and glorify Yourname." The purpose of our birth in the first place, is so God could redeem us, so that wecould bring Him praise and glorify His name for ever. -And, by the way, if you ever happen to read the book of Revelation, note chapter four andyou get to see to heaven and when you get up there, you meet saints…and what are theysaying? "Worthy is the Lamb to receive glory and honor and power" and all the rest. Andthat’s a portrait of the redeemed saints in glory doing what God designed for them to dofrom before the foundation of the world. That is to praise and glorify and honor His Son. -There’s another component. It says in I John 3:2 that when we see Him, we shall be likeHim." In Romans 8:29, it says that we were chosen, we were elected, we werepredestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. That is what the verse says, evenin the KJV -You can sum up the doctrine of election in a very simple way: God, before the foundationof the world, determined to give a redeemed humanity to His Son, to reflect His glory andto praise Him forever and ever and ever. God had a plan for our birth, and life, in timeand in eternity. -What happens in our lives on earth is, in the big picture, slightly incidental. The goal thatGod had from before the foundation of the world for Lenora, has now entered into itsfulfillment. All the rest was really prologue. But, it all started with election. It’s anincredible reality, you know! God not only knew, God chose. -Then there was justification. Once born into the world, the believer must hear themessage of salvation, and God’s Spirit then prompts the heart and salvation occurs.Lenora was justified: she was declared righteous. Some of us might think she wasdeclared righteous because she earned it-not true. By the deeds of the law, no flesh isjustified. She, like all the rest of us, was a sinner and in need of grace. - Will continuenext : Charles E. Whisnant -Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 04:20PM (-06:00)

Saturday, January 19, 2008A LESSON I WOU LD USE AT THE HOME GOING OF A BELIEVER Â portrait of the redeemed saints in glory doing what God designed for them to do frombefore the foundation of the world and that is to praise and glorify and honor His Son.PartTwo^Footnote: Thanks for all the e mails, flowers, cards, thanks, visits, phone calls.-Charles & Charity WhisnantP. O. Box 270Lucasville, Ohio 45648ÊLECTIONTOJUSTIFICATION-11 Thessalonians 2vs.11-12

• "But we are bound to give thanks, always to God for you, brethren beloved of theLord, because God hath from the beginning CHOSEN you to SALVATION throughSANCTIFICATION of the Spirit and belief in the truth." Whereunto he called you byour gospel to the obtaining of the GLORY of our Lord Jesus Christ."

-Do you understand how justification works? Do you understand what that word means? Itis a declared acceptable to God." Obviously, humanly speaking, none of us is qualified.So, at some point, in order that God’s plan founded in election can come to glorification,God has to get down to dealing with the issue of sin. -How does He do it? Well, sin has to be punished and this is the great miracle of theChristian faith: he punished Jesus in our place. Jesus died on the cross, follow thisthought, executed by God, as if He had committed every sin ever committed by everyperson who would ever believe, though, in fact, He committed none of them. If youunderstand that, you understand the core of the Christian gospel. God treated Jesus onthe cross as if He had committed every sin ever committed by every person, who would 21

ever believe. Though, in fact, He committed none of them. He died in our place.- This question is: why did He have to come and live for thirty-three years? And we don’teven know anything about those thirty-three years. What was Jesus like as a little boy?Have you ever wondered about that? Did His father work real hard in the carpenter’sshop to make a table and He came in and said, "Table!" What was He like, God in humanflesh? It doesn’t tell us. All we have is one small. tiny glimpse at the age of twelve whenhe was asking questions in Jerusalem of those religious authorities. Why thirty-threeyears? Why thirty years of absolute anonymity? Nobody really understood who He was.He didn’t make any great divine display, if you will, in the city of Nazareth or the village ofNazareth. Why all those years? Why seventy-six for Lenora?- Well, I think it’s really summed up when He was baptized and John the Baptist said,"Well, why do you want to be baptized?" And He said, "In order that I might fulfill allrighteousness." This is a great truth and it must be understood. Jesus needed to live aperfect life, a full and perfect life, so that it could be imputed to us. Let me sum it up thisway. On the cross Jesus was without sin. He was spotless, He was sinless, harmless,holy, undefiled, separate from sin…Hebrews says. On the cross He was sinless; Godtreated Him as if He was a sinner. Let me tell you something. You’re not righteous andI’m not either but God treats us as if we were. He executed Jesus as if He lived your lifeso He could treat you as if you lived His. That’s the doctrine of substitution. That’s whatjustification does. There was a day in the life of Lenora when God, in His marvelousgrace, moved that elective purpose one step further into justification. She heard thegospel, she believed the gospel, and God imputed the righteousness of Christ to her andher sin to the Savior who died on the cross, and she was saved. -JUSTIFICATION TO SANCTIFICATION-That wasn’t the end, because there’s a next stepin the unfolding of this. Election: He "chose you for salvation," that’s justification, "throughsanctification by the Spirit." The third great journal in the life of a believer is sanctification.What is that? It’s tied into belief, it’s tied into obedience……it’s just that progressiveunfolding of a believer’s life lived in obedience to God."- Bob, Rob, Debbie, Charity lived with Lenora through that great journal. How old was shewhen she was saved, be it seven or twenty one. Well, we saw the growth of hersanctification! And, for thirty-eight years, I was there with Charity, often at a distance, andnevertheless she was growing in the Image of Christ, and in those last months of her lifewe all saw that image of Christ take form.- Her biography’s no different than any of yours if you know Christ. You’re living throughthis time of gradually being evermore separated from sin. -FROM ELECTION TO JUSTIFICATION TO SANCTIFICATION- That’s not the end. Hesays, in verse 14, "……to which He called you." He called you to this justification. Hecalled you to this sanctification. He called you to "the obtaining of the glory of our LordJesus Christ." That is incredible. That’s glorification, from election to justification throughsanctification to glorification that is simply a statement that says that a believer in the endobtains, that is, participates in, the very glory of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.- FROM ELECTION TO JUSTIFICATION TO SANCTIFICTION TO GLORIFICATION-She entered into that glory last Wednesday. Now he has no more sin; she is sinless. Shereflects the glory of Christ. She was predestined to be conformed to the image of God’sSon: she is now bearing that image. She is not God, she is not deity, but she is as holy asGod. Isn’t that an amazing thought-because it’s an absolute holiness. For this she wasborn. For this she was saved. For this she lived. And, this is her shining moment. - &AND FOR ALL OF US WHO BELONG TO GOD, THE BIOGRAPHY IS THE SAME.-Now, I don’t want to minimize her uniqueness, but I do need to say that from God’sstandpoint, she is one of the chosen to belong to the heavenly hallelujah chorus whoforever will reflect the glory of Christ and worship and praise His name.- We do not fear as those who have no hope. We, who love Christ, are just waiting for the22

reunion. People always ask me, "Well, will she be waiting for us?" Well, she’s in a worldwith no time. If you don’t have time, you don’t have waiting. Besides, there’s plenty tokeep her occupied without worrying about us. For the first time, she will be free from that.- And this benediction: verse 16, "May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God andFather, who has loved us and given us everlasting comfort and good hope by grace,comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work." I don’t know aboutyou, but I’m greatly comforted in this truth. This is not an aberration. This isn’t somethingthat went wrong. This is something that went perfectly right…perfectly right.- And this is very personal, this verse, "May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our Godand Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting comfort and good hope by grace,comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work."

1. Don’t shake.2. Don’t be afraid.3. Don’t waver.4. Stand fast,5. hang on to the truth, the traditions you were taught -- hold onto everything she ever

taught.-

It would be a great tragedy and I say this to the family in particular, it would be a greattragedy were we not to stand fast in the truth that she lived for. I mean that would be theultimate tragedy, were we not to be faithful "in every good word and work." It wouldalmost seem as if all that she did would be wasted.- Stand fast, hold the traditions you were taught, receive the personal comfort of Christand God Himself, and be established "in every good word and work." This is ourbiography. And we’ll all be there……we’ll all be there if we know Him. - This could be saidof Bob Temple, Sr. who for 55 years lived with Lenora a life that was lived in the mannerof the Lord Jesus Christ. He as well as Lenora has lived a life as an example for theirfamily. May we all live in the manner as they have. -Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 07:37AM (-06:00)


We All Error In Bible Interpretation, But . . .Quoting William Plumer^"The knowledge of God possessed by angels and by the spirits of just men made perfectin heaven, is very different in degree from that possessed by even good and able men onearth. Here all men are liable to err, and all men do err.-No man on this earth is withoutsome wrong view, or some ignorance, which mars his knowledge.-This is no reason forsloth or discouragement; but is a good reason why we should be humble and careful andteachable, and pray for divine light and guidance.-It is far different in heaven. There theydo always hold the face of God. Matthew 18:10. They do not hope for anything, for theyalready possess all good. Romans 8:24. "Now we see through a glass, darkly; but thenface to face: now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known." 1Corinthians 13:12.-Knowledge without any mixture of error belongs only to the heavenlystate. And yet a great part of the knowledge which the inhabitants of heaven have -concerns the very things which good men are learning in this world. Those above knowperfectly what we know in parcels only. "^ There are those who would say: "This is thereason we must embrace mystery, and try not to be so arrogant as to think that any of ushas the truth cornered." - William Plumer on the other hand, was a theologian whobelieved that the truth could be known and understood, and if you thoroughly studied 23

your Bible, and you earnestly seeking truth, the Holy Spirit just might give it to you. - Wedon't need to shy away from doctrine because we are slow of learning. There is noreason we should be slack in learning the Word. - Its not arrogants to say we arestudying theology to know the knowledge of God.^Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 07:45AM (-06:00)

Sunday, January 20, 2008This is my youngest son Kyle and hismother, my wife, Charity at the burial ofCharity's mother Lenora Temple. ^Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 08:44PM(-06:00)


Charles and Charity Whisnant at Charitymother's Funeral January 12th 2008Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 08:49PM(-06:00)

Sunday, January 20, 2008 Charles E. Whisnant, and my son Chad ^Robby Temple, 111, Eric C. Whisnant BobTemple, Sr. ,Chad R. Whisnant, and KyleE. WhisnantPosted by Charles E. Whisnant at 09:06PM(-06:00)

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Monday, January 21, 2008THIS IS CHARITY'S MOTHERLENORATEMPLETHIS PICTURE WAS TAKENABOUT A YEAR AGO ON LENORA 75THBIRTHDAYShe will be missed, but not forgotten byfamily and friends, and even her son-in-law.

1. What is your only comfort in life and indeath?

That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death,[1] am not my own,[2] but belong tomy faithful Savior Jesus Christ,[3] who with His precious blood[4] has fully satisfied for allmy sins,[5] and redeemed me from all the power of the devil;[6] and so preserves me[7]that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head;[8] indeed,that all things must work together for my salvation.[9] Wherefore, by His Holy Spirit, Healso assures me of eternal life,[10] and makes me heartily willing and ready from now onto live unto Him.[11][1] Rom 14:7-9; [2] 1 Cor 6:19-20; [3] 1 Cor 3:23; Tit 2:14; [4] 1 Pt 1:18-19; [5] 1 Jn 1:7;2:2; [6] Jn 8:34-36; Heb 2:14-15; 1 Jn 3:8; [7] Jn 6:39-40, 10:27-30; 2 Thes 3:3; 1 Pt 1:5;[8] Mt 10:29-31; Lk 21:16- ^Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 07:18AM (-06:00)

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Monday, January 21, 2008ERIC, BECKY, CHARITY, CHARLES,C H A D K Y L E L E S L I E , B R I T T N E Y ,H E A T H E R

CHRISTMAS AT THE TEMPLE 2007

Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 02:17PM(-06:00)

Monday, January 21, 2008THIS IS MY DAUGHTER BECKY Beckylives in Hutchinson KansasPosted by Charles E. Whisnant at 03:13PM(-06:00)

Monday, January 21, 2008HEREIN IS THE ANSWER TO KNOWINGH O W T O G E T T O H E A V E N ^ 1 1T h e s s a l o n i a n s 2vs.11-12"But we are bound to give thanks, always toGod for you, brethren beloved of the Lord,because God hath from the beginningCHOSEN you to SALVATION throughSANCTIFICATION of the Spirit and belief inthe truth." Whereunto he called you by our

gospel to the obtaining of the GLORY of our Lord Jesus Christ."&Updated Tuesday&Ifyou will scroll down a few posts and past the pictures you willsee the lesson on this verseabout oursalvation. (There are two parts)- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -&While glancingthrough Philip Schaff's "History of the Christian Church, Volume 1," I came across thefollowing wonderful quote. I share it with you for your enjoyment and pondering. May Godgrant His people a renewed love and reverence for His Word^"In these inspired writings we have, not indeed an equivalent, but a reliable substitute forthe personal presence and the oral instruction of Christ and His apostles. The writtenWord differs from the spoken only in form; the substance is the same, and has thereforethe same authority and quickening power for us as it had for those who heard it first.Although these books were called forth apparently by special and accidental occasions,26

and were primarily addressed to particular circles of readers and adapted to particularcircumstances, yet, as they present the eternal and unchangeable truth in living forms,they suit all circumstances and conditions. Tracts for the times, they are tracts for alltimes; intended for Jews and Greeks of the first century, they have the same interest forEnglishmen and Americans of the nineteenth century [and of the 21st!]. They are to thisday not only the sole reliable and pure fountain of primitive Christianity, but also theinfallible rule of Christian faith and practice. From this fountain the church has drunk thewater of life for more than fifty generations, and will drink it until the end of time. In thisrule she has a perpetual corrective for all her faults, and a protective against all error.Theological systems come and go, and draw from that treasury their larger or smalleradditions to the stock of our knowledge of the truth; but they can never equal thatinfallible Word of God, wich abideth forever."^FOOTNOTECharity's father and mother, would daily set at the breakfast table and read the Bible. TheBible was as much a part of their lives as breathing.They tried to live the principles of theBible.Often Bob would read through the Bible twice in one year.Bob at 75 years old, is asfresh in His spirit for Christ as he was when he was 33 years old, fresh out of BibleBaptist Seminaryand Lenora was by his side the whole timeIn business and inchurch.Last night Bob Temple, Sr. taught a Bible Lessonto the Senior Citizens^Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 05:34PM (-06:00)

Tuesday, January 22, 2008October 2003 Richard Lemaster gave mehis Gateway Computer with a printer andwith 98 Windows and Corel Word Perfectand a printer. And went on AOL November2003. Today January 2008, I still have thisGateway Computer, and six printers laterand still with AOL

Daily for the last four years sitting at mydesk, with a cup of coffee, pen and paper

and Corel WordPerfect , and a bible at hand, studying 1000's of articles, from Theology toChurch Ministry from many websites. Downloading those articles and neatly placing in athree ring binder.

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Tuesday, January 22, 2008Scripture is very clear and consistent in its teaching that we were all born into a state ofsinfulness, guilt, and spiritual death. When we truly comprehend our fallenness, we canimmediately see that our own sin is a moral and spiritual dilemma from which we areutterly unable to loosen ourselves.

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• Paul told the Ephesian believers: "[You] were dead in trespasses and sins: whereinin time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the princeof the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh,fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children ofwrath, even as others" (Ephesians 2:1-3).

• Look closely at what he says there: Every unregenerate person is spiritually dead,walking in accord with Satan, by nature a child of wrath. We are born into this worldas thorough going sinners—not merely tainted a little bit by sin, but completely,hopelessly in bondage to it. Every aspect of our being—mind, emotions, desires,and even our physical constitution—is corrupted, controlled, and disfigured by sinand its effects. No one escapes from that verdict. We are totally depraved. Whatdoes this mean ?


Wednesday, January 23, 2008ROBERT TEMPLE, SR . ROBERTTEMPLE, III ANDROBERT TEMPLE 11and his wife Ily (alvarado_ileana)CHARITY'S DAD, AND BROTHER ROB 11^


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Thursday, January 24, 2008HERE IS THE PLACE TO GO FOR A GREAT TIMEOF WHAT IS CALLED HUNTING AND FISHINGAND JUST A GREAT TIME IN THE OUTDOORS.

^KURT NUNNENKAMP

He and MICHELE has been our friends since the 1980's when I was pastor/teacher atAltoona Kansas. Charity and I could not have two better friends.&-MIKE and NancyNunnenkamp, Kurt's brother has been a friend as long. The Nunnenkamp family, Allenand Cec their dad and mom has been a long time friends. Cec was the "world's bestchurch secre ta ry " .You need to check ou t a g rea t webs i te . . . . . . . . . . .& -http://www.kansasparadiseadventures.com/hunts_turkey.html-This learning how toupload pictures is sure wonderful. Be sure to take a view of Kurt's website. Enjoy. I amalready home sick for the outdoors of Altoona, Kansas. What was I thinking when I left.-Charles^Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 07:13AM (-06:00)

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Thursday, January 24, 2008REFINEDRefined - showing a high degree of refinement and theassurance that comes from wide social experience; "his polished mannerwas outstanding."-I am working on my Passioned, Personality Disorder. -I am working:To become free of impurities. To acquire polish orelegance. To use precise distinctions and subtlety in thought or speech.-This might take a while.cultivated, polished, polite, courteous, civilized,courtly, genteel, elegantPosted by Charles E. Whisnant at 06:11PM (-06:00)

Friday, January 25, 2008TIGER WOODSEnough said.......^HEREWE GO AGAIN^Buick Invitationalafter tworounds67 and 65a four stroke lead2008^Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 06:08PM(-06:00)

Saturday, January 26, 2008JESUS ON THE CROSS FOR THE REDEMPTION OFTHOSE WHO HE DIED FOR.

I was born and raised into a Baptist, Indpendent Baptisthome. I was saved in a Baptist Church. My dad was a Baptistpreacher. I went to a Baptist Seminary. I have pastor andworked and taught in Baptist Churches. (A little back ground)-Back in February 2004 I was asked by Frank Tallerico.pastor of Bigelow Church to teach the Discipleship HourAdult class for a few weeks. My topic was:-

"THE STUDY OF THE DOCTRINE OF GRACE"

Ând I plan to post some of that study-What was the reason Jesus died on the Cross?The Crucifixion of ChristandHow was our salvation made possible?^30

from the curse of the fall to total inabilityto the redemption at the crossto the adoption of underserving sinners.^from the work of a Sovereign God in ELECTION

to the work of Jesus on the cross in ATONEMENT

to the work of the Holy Spirit in the REGENERATION^


Saturday, January 26, 2008Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 04:17PM (-06:00)

Saturday, January 26, 2008POINT AND SHOOT

BUICK INVITATION 2008 Tiger Woods has an eight-shot lead aftershooting a 66 in Round 3. Stewart Cink (69)is his closest competitor.Woods was at 18-under 198, tying the 54-hole record at Torrey Pines set by WoodyBlackburn in 1985. Woods also shattered

tournament records for 54-hole lead (five shots), and appears well on his way tocapturing the Buick Invitational for the fourth straight year, and sixth time in his career.Tiger is one short of 62 victories to tie Arnold Palmer. -PGAtour.com-

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Sunday, January 27, 2008T I G E R W O O D S W I N S B U I C KINVITATIONAL BY 8 STROKES IN 2008DEBUT

Tiger Woods opened his season with afourth straight win at the Buick Invitational,an eight-stroke victory that ties him withArnold Palmer for fourth place in U.S. PGATour history with 62 golf tournament titles.

Woods, the world's No. 1 ranked golfer,entered the final round with an eight-strokeadvantage and shot a 1-under-par 71 todayat windy Torrey Pines Golf Club in La Jolla,California.

Woods has won the last four PGA Tour events he's entered dating back to last season,when he completed the year by capturing the first FedEx Cup title, and trails only SamSnead (82), Jack Nicklaus (73) and Ben Hogan (64) in career victories.

ARNOLD PALMER HAS ALWAYS BEING MY #ONE GOLFER. 1954 -1973 PGA 62WINS AND TEN SENIOR TOUR PGA WINS. 734 events 62-38-27

TIGER WOODS 1991 -2008 11 Years 62 PGA wins. 20 other tour wins worldwide.

Tiger Woods opened his season with a fourth straight win at the Buick Invitational, aneight-stroke victory that ties him with Arnold Palmer for fourth place in U.S. PGA Tourhistory with 62 golf tournament titles.

Woods, the world's No. 1 ranked golfer, entered the final round with an eight-strokeadvantage and shot a 1-under-par 71 today at windy Torrey Pines Golf Club in La Jolla,California. 18 under par. 67-65-66-71 269

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Woods has won the last four PGA Tour events he's entered dating back to last season,when he completed the year by capturing the first FedEx Cup title, and trails only SamSnead (82), Jack Nicklaus (73) and Ben Hogan (64) in career victories.

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TigerWoodsofficial site had the banner at the top of this post. PGA tour had the 62 winposter.


Monday, January 28, 2008THE PREEMINENCE OF GOD OVERHISTORYJesus is not a "doll." Several years ago, aChristian company in Florida beganmarketing "Jesus the Doll," a doll themakers claim will "help children discoverJesus." For $29.95, the doll promises to"provide solace for the elderly and theinfirm, for those in recovery programs, andthose in emotional duress. The real Lord isjust too ethereal, "it's hard to hug air" thecompany notes.-Maybe some people who are not Christiansneed to take "Effexor XR", but Christians donot, nor do they need a "Jesus the Doll." Christians do not need to rely on "venlafaxinehydrochloride" the extended release capsule. But a continued release of the Holy Spirit inour spirit.Christians need to understand the theology of God and His work and words.-

Christians do not necessarily need drugs for strength, for encouragment, for solace, forrecovery from hurt, disappointment, death, and daily living. They need to grasp theknowlege of who God, Jesus Christ is and what he is doing in the world today.-I am afraid that too many people in America have forgotten the sovereign power of God.Our Lord Jesus Christ is abounding in love and mercy, but not in "hugs." He is too big tohug. And those in the Bible who saw God, men like Moses and Isaiah in Isaiah six,wanted to run from God. They didn't want to hug Him. They said, "Woe is me, I amruined!" Even angels who minister before God's throne would not even dare to look Godin the face, but cover their eyes and feet and cry out, "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY" Our God,our Lord Jesus Christ, is a consuming fire, not a rag doll. And God is sovereign and thereis really no need to fear... HE IS IN CONTROL.

The time-extended-release capsules we need is not found in hugging a doll but readingthe verses in the BIBLE. The Spirit will release His strength in us hourly.

• Psalms 103:19 "The Lord hath prepared His throne in the heavens, and His 33

kingdom ruleth over all."• Romans 8:28 "And we know that all works together for good to them that love God,

to them who are the called to His purpose."• Ephesians 1:11 "In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being

predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things afer thecounsel of His own will."

I suggest that you spend $ for a Bible, like the John MacArthur, Jr, Study Bible(or Charity would get the Charles Stanley "Life Principles" Bible).

Or get a hug from Charlie Bond or Ray McCoy. That is far better than hugging a doll. Geta call from Sharan McCoy, get an email from a friend, get a card from Allen and ToniBarnhart, including their children and grandkids. Or share a new blonde joke with Melody.If you need a spiritual therapist, Rick Warner has been a blessing to me. Of course Icould continue to give illustration, but it would take pages.

If you need strength, or you have emotional trouble, or you need a lift, you need the time-released power of Jesus Christ, via the Holy Spirit. And sometimes Christ will use us toencourage others. I think therefor I BLOG. -Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 07:10AM (-06:00)

Monday, January 28, 2008S H O U L D Y O U M A R K I N Y O U RBIBLEandBLANK SHEETS IN YOURBIBLE FOR NOTESShould you mark in your Bible? You areasking me? I have marked in my bible forfifty years. I was surprise to read over atExperiencing Reformation: "Building ABlank Bible" He is makeing a blank Biblef o r h i s d a d . G o o d n e s s . O v e r a tThinkichristian.net "Writing In Your Bible."This idea of writing in your Bible, or havinga Bible where there are blank pages. Also

over ESV.org/blog had this project of theblank Bible. They are at least sixty yearslate.

http://edwards.yale.edu/pdfs/gal.pdf hasJonathan Edwards sermon on "The BlankBible".My dad had a loose leaf Bible, by RiversideBook & Bible House over fifty years ago,you could have a blank page or pages wherever you wanted. I had one myself withhundreds of extra pages with my sermon notes. I have a three ring Bible. You can put acomplete sermon anytime in this Bible.Highlighting markers is a normal part of reading, underlining verses is normal. In some ofmy Bibles, there is not a page that has not been marked up with notes.

The Bible is God’s word and it is meant to be used, pencil, pen, markers, should be used34

to high light a text. Its not sinful to put notesin your bible, its better than a flower topress.Of course if you have a MacArthur, Jr StudyBible, the notes of verses are already onthe page.


Tuesday, January 29, 2008P R A Y I N G I S G E N U I N E L Y A V E R YT H O U G H T F U L R E S P O N S I B L I T Y


Wednesday, January 30, 2008THE PREEMINENCE OF GOD OVER HISTORY

GOD HAS ORDAINED EVERYTHING IN HISTORY

Êphesians 1:11 tells us this: "God, from all eternity, did,by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely,and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass." InHim we were predestined according to the plan of Himwho works out everything in conformity with the purposeof His will.R.C. Sproul said this:

• Were there one maverick molecule out there somewhere apart from the plan ofGod, we would have no reason to hope in God. That one maverick molecule couldbe the one detail that defeats God's eternal purpose. "

This is hard to get a grasp of: God is all-powerful, and all of history is merely the 35

outworking of His eternal plan. God not merely created the world, but His eternal powersustains it and continues its existence by the sheer exertion of His will - were God toblink, all would come to an end. God is the First Cause that lies behind all secondarycauses. Out of all the billions of ways that God could have planned history, this is theplan Goid chose. God's invisible hand is secretly at work controlling all things.

1. God controls all of nature: Psa 135:6-7, Mt 5:45 and 6:25-302. God controls angels and Satan: Psa. 103:20-21 and Job 1:123. God controls nations: Ps 47:7-8, Daniel 2:20-21 and 4:34-354. God controls human beings: I Sam 2:6-7 and Gal 1:15-165. God controls animals: Psa 104:21-306. God controls accidents: Proverbs 16:33 and Jonah 1:7 and Matthew 10:297. God controls free acts of men: Exodus 3:21, 12-25-368. God controls sinfuls acts of men and satan: Acts 2:23, 4:27-28

THIS IS A REALLY HARD TO GET A HANDLED ON:

• The key biblical principle that gives an insight into God's sovereignty is calledconcurrence. People have plans, which may be good or may be evil, and people arereally responsible for the plans they make.

• God also has a plan, a plan which overruless all other plans.• God eternal purposeand humanity's purpose s concur - in other words they take

place at the same time.• J.I Packer said this: "God's control is absolute in the sense that men do only that

which He has ordained that they should do, yet they are truly free agents in thesense that their decisions are their own, and they are morally responsible for them"

Some times it appears that our motives may be impure, even our attempts to thwartGod's eternal plan is fact only serve to further it. God's purpose and men's action conceratthe same time.

• In Acts 1:23 and 4:27-28: God plans the muirder of Jesus, the worst sin in history.God tells us that Christ's murderers were working out His eternal plan, then goes onto say that they will be judged for their actions.

• In Genesis 45:5 and 50:20, God plans the attempted murder and enslavement ofJoseph so that God could eventually rescue millions of people from famine. Josephtells his brothers that their plan was meant for evil -- "You inteneded to harm me."But God's plan trumped their plan, Joseph explains "But God inteneded it for goodto accompllish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

God allows even evil, and the suffering that follows from living in a sin-sickened world. Iknow this seems ironic, since God hates sin and forbids people from sinning. God hatesdeath too - Jesus even wept at the sight of death. But God also ordains death - - it's Hiscurse on all of us for the sins of our first parents (Genesis 3).

God ordains sin and suffering, even though He despises them. Here in then is themystery of concurrence.

This does not make human beings simply "puppets" - - puppets do not have desires orwills, or do not make choces. People do made their choices.

God is the invisible hand at work in, behind and through the plans of mice and men,always accomplishing His eternal and unchaning purpose.

Okay if your mother or father, or child is suffering, are you yourself, don't tell me, that God36

has nothing to do with their suffering. All the suffering has some significance with God!God ordains every disappointment, suffering, lost and sorrow, just as surly as He ordainsevery joy and happiness. We want to believe that God is their with us every step of theway.

Didn't Job say, "The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away." What did Job then say,"May the name of the LORD be praised."

God has a PURPOSE and while most of the time we have no clue, nor can't understandit.

Our sufferings and disppointment, hurts, saddness, losses, and even our sins havesignificance greater than themselves.

For most people this idea is hard to take, to believe. Our culture today wants to believethey have personal self determination. Their personal choice is viewed over God as themost important. Some pray that God's will be accomplished in their lives. Others believethey made their own choices, to which God is not involved.

As a result of this personal self determination, and conclusion, its hard to teach thedoctrine of predestination because at the heart of men is this rebellion.

Ephesians 1:11 "In Him, (Christ) we were chosen, having been predestined according tothe plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will.

-Who decides? God or man! Well both. But its God who overrules.Don't many of us, youwho are believers, pray daily that God will direct our going and coming, our thoughts andbehavior. I certainly do. I want God to just set in anytime He desires.

(Notes from a lesson at First Baptist Church, Altoona, Kansas)

-




Thursday, January 31, 2008 This is a first for me I usually never post a cat and a mouse. But what a day I have had.This picture came from an e mail from my friend Randy Webb. I hope its okay to post thispicture.

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Also my sister Ellen has been working on my new website. She loves me. Think of that.

A Few Quotes:

"What a man needs is a brother to draw close, minister to him, and help him mature. Heneeds somebody to demonstrate to him another way to live, modeling a godly marriage,biblical parenthood, and the love of Christ." Steve Sonderman,Effective Men's Ministry

"We cannot control what others do, but we can be renewed each day in our confidence ofGod's faithful love and care for us and in his unfailing commitment to meet our needsaccording to his redemptive plan. "

"You prepare a table (of provisions) before me in the presence of my enemies." - Psalm23:5

Don Loy Whisnant- Well this is short tonight, but some good thoughts. A Cat andmouses! Who would have thought -Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 05:32PM (-06:00)

Friday, February 01, 2008FINALLY NEW CHANGES ON THE BLOG^

As you can see there are some newfeatures on this blog today for the first time.We want to made this Blogger moreresourceful for our guests and friends toview.-Since August 2006 we have posted 358articles and posts. Who is going to view

those one at a time? Of course if you want to know Charles/Charity's ministry you couldget a good idea if you view the first fifty posts.-SUBJECT LABELS OF EACH POST

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• The next best idea is to view posts by subjects. Blogger has provided the meanswhereby you can do that. I started labeling each post in 2007 andwill need to goback and work on the posts in 2006. There is a list of subject labels on the sidebar.You click on a subject of interest and you will be directed to all posts on that subject.How good is that? Blogger has done well with this. It's I who has taken this long tofigure out how to get that list on the side bar. Never give up folks, you can learn atsixty if you never give up. You might be white haired before you can get it, but I likemy white hair. You know Stephen is right! (Ellen's smart son )

ARCHIVES:• I hope I have made it easier to view the posts. I have on the side bar a list of the

last month's articles. You can view and click on any article and Blogger will take youdirectly to the article.

LINKS TO OTHER BLOOGERS AND WEBSITES• I am going to work on specific links (websites) that I like very much and will have

those listed on the side bar as well soon.LIST OF BOOKS FOR RESOURCE MATERIAL

• Also I have listed a series of books that I have read or am reading, and they will belisted at the end of each post. You will need to click on the time listed at the end ofeach posts, and you will be directed to that single blog. At the end of the page willbe that list of books I read.

COMMENTS• Comments on Blogger is a little hard, they require that you have a blog or fill out a

form. To many that is a little too much for a comment. Thus, the comments I get arefrom e mail. I receive a number of e mails. I really like that method the best. My email can be found on my profile page. [email protected]

Blogger offers several more features that I have not used but in the future I hope to beginusing them.-The idea of GROW BY LEARNING BLOG is to provide as much resource aspossible for the guests and friends of ours. There are 1000's of people who have blogs,many are just wonderful websites.

• One example of being helpful without knowing it at the time. Someone googled myname (that is really shocking) and found our BLOGGER and found the article aboutCharity's mother Lenora passing away. She didn't know that until she read our post.

ADDITIONAL WEB SITE IN THE MAKING• My lovely sister Ellen Samples is learning this Blogger too. Her daughter April

Williams has already just about mastered this .com business. Well, Ellen had theidea that a .com site would be good to have. So she found a website host, anddecided to craft her brother a website. She did all the work putting together the artwork and found the templates and Ellen designed the site. Then she turned the webover to me. Now how did she do this? That is the question? I will post the address

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later.E MAILS

• I have discovered that I can automatically have each post I write e mailed to anindividual, how scary is that! What I generally do, is e mail a list of friends givingthem a heads up what the post I have just written is about. Some like this better. Iproved a direct link to our blogger, which makes it easier to click and read.Sometimes I write articles on the email that I have not yet or might not post on theBlogger.

THERE YOU HAVE THE NEW UPDATES FOR 2008. WHO KNOWS WHAT ELSE WEWILL BE LEARNING THIS YEAR. MAY YOU PRAY THOUGHTFULLY, MAY YOUTHINK BIBLICALLY DAILY.-Please remember when reading any article or viewing anypost, that you keep in mind, that I love the Lord, I love my wife, I love ministry, and I lovemy friends, and some of my detractors. I want to be helpful, and Christ-like in what Ipost.-Pray for Charity and me when you read these posts. Pray that the Lord will openthe doors for ministry in a local church in 2008. Pray for Charity and me as we work in theworkplace that we might be a light in a dark world, and that we can be an encouragementto those who need to be encouraged.--Charles E. Whisnant, proof read by Charity finally Feb 2

-Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 07:41AM (-06:00)

Sunday, February 03, 2008PASTORAL ELDERS AND CHURCHELDERS: LEADERSHIP RETREATS^ Thisp i c t u r e s o f a c a b i n c o m e s f r o mExpositoryThoughs. (I think its one on ourcamp grounds in Perrysville, Ohio, we hadseveral retreats there.) I visit this this siteweekly. I ts design for pastors andpreachers. I am going to address thequest ion that Pau l Lamey ask onexpositoryThoughts... - "I’m getting out oftown this afternoon (through Saturday) withmy fellow elders for our annual leadership

retreat. I would be interested to hear if some of you do similar things with your leadershipand if so what do you do? For fun? For ministry? "– Paul Lamey-Question asked:

• I’d love to hear of the agenda/schedule from your time together.Paul commented:

• In a nutshell (in no particular order here) we discuss every ministry that our churchis involved with in order to assess strengths/weaknesses/needs (women’’s ministry,children, missions, etc.).We spend a lot of time on how we are taking care of the congregation as shepherds(physical needs, spiritual needs). We discuss particular families and situations thatneed attention.We brain storm and think a lot about future plans and goals and what it will take toaccomplish such ideas.40

I typically lead our men through a study with a focus on our leadership but also withthe idea that the study itself further instructs the men ""how"" to study scripture. Thisyear I will teach through Philemon. We will have two or three sessions on this.– Paul Lamey

I asked Paul: "Pastoral Elders and Church elders, how do you view them in relationshipto leadership? How often do you meet?"

Charles,

• The only distinction we make among our elders is between vocational/non-vocational or compensated/non-compensated (1 Tim. 5:17). While not all the eldersare gifted in the same way or to the same degree we are all equal as leaders amongthe flock and equally qualified (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1ff).

•We also have the responsibility to train-up other qualified men (2 Tim. 2:2) so thatthe church is always under the leadership of faithful men.

•Our full elder session meets once a month for a time of instruction, prayer and todiscuss congregational issues (both administrative and spiritual). We also meetinformally in the intervening times for special meetings where we may need tocounsel someone or address a particular issue that doesn’t require the full session.We meet once a year for our retreat and plan to take our wives every other year.

•I hope this helps. Thanks for the questions.

----Paul


Sunday, February 03, 2008WOODS WINS DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC FOR FIFTHTOURNAMENT WIN IN A ROW^Woods wins Dubai Desert Classic for fifth tournamentwin in a row- This is the third time he has started aseason with two straight victories, and it was anothersign that the world's No. 1 player could be headed for abig year. Woods now has won his last four officialtournaments, and six of his last seven dating to theBridgestone Invitational in early August.-He also won his unofficial Target World Challenge byseven shots in December.-Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Sports Network) -Different country, different tour. Same result.-Tiger Woods fired a seven-under 65 on Sunday to win the European Tour's Dubai DesertClassic for the second time in three years, posting six birdies on the back nine toovercome a four-stroke deficit. -After rolling to an eight-shot victory at last week's Buick Invitational -- his 62nd on thePGA Tour -- Woods beat Germany's Martin Kaymer by just one stroke at 14-under 274. - 41


Monday, February 04, 2008SUPER BOWL PARTY

^

Charity thought having a party would be nice. Girlsare like that. So after I went to church last nightwith Bob we came back to watch the second halfof the game. Charity, Debbie, Kindra and Ilyprovided a good super bowl meal.-Giants 17,Patriots 14stunnerSimply a Super stunner^Giants derail Patriots' perfect season^Did the girlswatch the game..... no they watch Dave Ramseyon Fox.-Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 07:18AM (-06:00)

Monday, February 04, 2008-ELLEN SAMPLES IS A WONDERFULCHRISTIAN LADY AND MY SISTER Êllen provided me with a website, she is myweblady. This has been a fun projectedworking on this new site, both of us nowhave a site. Both are up and running in itsbeginning stages. We both have a mission.^http://hstrial-cwhisnant2.homestead.com/This is my new site GROW BY LEARNING^ http://hstrial-esamples.homestead.com/This is Ellen's. -Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 08:03AM(-06:00)

Monday, February 04, 2008STEROIDS IN BASEBALL AND SPORTSSTEROIDS IN BASEBALL AND SPORTSPart OneÂnabolic steroids

2000-2008 was not the beginning of the use of anabolicsteroids The first time anabolic performance enhancement had beenattempted. As far back as the original Olympic Games in ancient Greece, athletes42

ingested various herbs and foods with the hopes ofimproving their performance. The big winner in the480 B.C. Olympic Games said he ate nothing butmeat for 10 months prior to the Games. Now weknow that meat is especially high in B vitamins andCreatine, both of which can enhance performance.Early attempts to increase Testosterone weredocumented as early as 776 BC andagain, byOlympic athletes ´ ingested sheep ´s testicles, whichthey knew to be a source of Testosterone production(3). Although it might seem extreme to us now, toeat meat for ten straight months (or to ingest sheeptesticles), this was a small price to pay for the prizemoney that was offered back then & up to 1,200days pay for winning an event was common. There

were no participation medals; they did notcompete for the love of the game, to give ittheir best shot, or even for pride. Theycompeted for money and prestige, end ofstory . And that is why they sought outperformance enhancers. -If that story sounds familiar, like perhapsone you´ve heard on TV or in magazinesconcerning modern-day steroid use in

sports, it should. Athletes´ today- especially professional athletes- have very lucrativecontracts and sponsorship deals, and steroids are known to enhance performance,reduce and repair injuries, and lengthen careers. So it should be no surprise to mostpeople that when Dr.Ziegler returned from the World Weightlifting Championships, heimmediately began researching testosterone and trying to develop something better forhis Athletes.

The story of steroid use in sports began just before the World WeightliftingChampionships of 1954. http://www.steroid.com/steroids-in-sports.php

• I was watching CBS Sunday Morning: one of the stories was on Steroids. Its in thenews daily. Is steroids wrong! And why now does the culture deside that thesebuilding up of the body now is wrong?

• Did Mark McGuire use steroids? Would you vote for him for the Hall of Baseball?• Did Roger Clements use steroids? And!• Has our culture caused athletics to use of body building drugs so athletics can get

the edge in sports today?What is the Christian Point of view of the Worldview on Drugs in Sports?-Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 11:33AM (-06:00)

Tuesday, February 05, 2008WHAT SHOULD BE THE CHRISTIAN VIEW POINT OF STEROIDS IN SPORTS?*LOOKING AT PRO WRESTLING/ & WEIGHTLIFTINGWhat is the Christian Pointof viewof the Worldview onDrugs in Sports?- Yes, I wrestled inhigh school, and lifted weights, played basketball, football and boxed, baseball andgymnastics. - 43

I remember well when I was a youth in Roanoke,Virginia in the 1950's and 60's, going to watchwrestling. My dad would take us to watch HaystackCalhoun. He was one of the original farm boys and oneof the most beloved big men in the history ofprofessional wrestling. His immense popularity helpedto carry several regions during his time. The menlooked like regular men who were trying to wrestleeach other. I really enjoyed wrestling, and my brotherand I would try to copy what we saw. It’s almostcomical now to look back at those days of wrestling.Haystack Calhoun was my very favorite wrestler -I went to Seminary in Arlington, Texas in the late 60'sand loved watching Fritz Von Erich and his sons. (Thestory of the Von Erich’s was unfortunate tragedy.).W h i l e I

was a dedicated. student of the Bible, truly Iwas, I still had this enjoyment of watchingwrestling. I took all kinds of abuse for likingwatching wrestling..*Even in the 1980's when we were in Altoona,Kansas, my son Eric and I would go toCoffeyville, Kansas to watch wrestling. Wesaw Rick Flair wrestle.. They still looked likeregular men. They were just wrestling eachother in the manner that I wrestled in highschool. I loved seeing Rick Flair and HarleyRace. We drove to Wichita, Kansas, towatch Rick Flair and Sting, and JunkyardDog.

- Ipastored FBC in Altoona, Kansas and I loved prowrestling. I also worked in a Nursing Home for tenyears, and each Saturday for years, we wouldwatch wrestling on TV, and Eric would go with meto cut the lawn and then watch TV. Wrestling wasso much fun, clean fun, family fun. Really. I wouldwatch wrestling on TV at home at 10 p.m. and getup on Sunday and preach. Really. Okay, it was asgood as watching Gunsmoke.*Something happened in the 1990's. The wrestlerswere getting bigger in body build. They began totake on the look of bodybuilders, like ArnoldSchwarzenegger. And wrestling took on anotherlook and another form of entertainment and we

moved away from wrestling.-Arnold Schwarzenegger came to America in 1968 at 21. In 1970 and won the competitionmaking him the youngest Mr. Olympia in history at just 23 years of age, a record he stillholds to this day. -44

He has admitted to using performance-enhancinganabolic steroids while they were legal, writing in1977 that "steroids were helpful to me in maintainingmuscle size while on a strict diet in preparation for acontest. I did not use them for muscle growth, butrather for muscle maintenance when cutting up."Schwarzenegger has called the drugs "tissuebuilding." It has been alleged that Schwarzeneggerwon his first of seven Mr. Olympia titles in 1970using just three Dianabol (Methandrostenolone) perday.-THE STORY OF STEROID USE IN SPORT-The story of steroid use in sports began just beforet h e W o r l d

Weightlifting Championships of 1954. The Soviets hadmade their Olympic debut in Helsinki in 1952, and madequite an impact, but nothing compared to the show theyput on in 1954. That year, the Soviets easily dominatedmost of the weight classes. As the story goes, John Ziegler(team physician for the United States) questioned theSoviet team ´s doctor after the medals were given out, andthe Soviet doctor said that his team had been receivingtestosterone injections. That, in all probability, was the firsttime anyone had ever used anabolic steroids to enhanceperformance in an athletic event. According to someunconfirmed sources, testosterone preparations were usedby Germany’s Olympic team in 1936 for the BerlinOlympics. At that time, there were rumors that an Olympicmedal winner had previously used oral Testosteronepreparations, but the benefit to be had from them (due to the technology at the timeregarding oral testosterone) would have been minor. In the case of the Soviets, however,rumors of discarded syringes in their dressing rooms made it clear that they were notusing oral steroids, they were using something different. And everyone wanted to knowwhat it was.-Culture is the habits of society. Sports often reflect the thinking of oursociety, and society reflects the trends of sports athletes. What athlete does not want tobe as good as Tiger Woods, or Mark McGuire, or Hulk Hogan? What are they willing todo to be like them?Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 08:48PM (-06:00)


Anabolic steroidsWHAT SHOULD BE THE CHRISTIAN VIEW POINT OF STEROIDS IN SPORTS?-POP CULTURE ROLL IN TODAY SPORTS CULTURE

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-Popular culture (or pop culture) can be deemed as what is popular within the socialcontext - that of which is most strongly represented by what is perceived to be popularlyaccepted among society. Otherwise, popular culture is also suggested to be thewidespread cultural elements in any given society that are perpetuated through thatsociety's vernacular language or lingua franca. It comprises the daily interactions, needsand desires and cultural 'moments' that make up the everyday lives of the mainstream. Itcan include any number of practices, including those pertaining to cooking, clothing,consumption, mass media and the many facets of entertainment such as sports andliterature.

-Culture is the habits of society. Sports often reflect the thinkingof our society, and society reflects the trends of sports athletes

-Later today, I will address part three of this article.-CharlesPosted by Charles E. Whisnant at 09:19AM (-06:00)

Thursday, February 07, 2008WHAT SHOULD BE THE CHRISTIAN VIEW POINT OF STEROIDS IN SPORTS? Partthree

Sylvester Stallone, 61, has stated publicly that he took human growth hormone and46

testosterone, substances that supposedlypromote a lean, muscular body. (USAToday February 2008) A new movieRAMBO coming this month.

But doctors and scientists who study thesepotent hormones say Stallone may beplaying with more fire power than evenJohn James RAMBO can handle. or RockyBalboa

• In popular culture, the name Rambo has become an eponym for a tactic of militaryaggression or, alternatively, a person demonstrating heroism through extremeviolence, especially when outnumbered. However, the term can also be usedsomewhat derogatorily to describe someone who thoughtlessly charges into a fightwith no rregard for personal safety or careful planning. This term is commonlyreferred to as "Going Rambo"ular culture (or pop culture) can be deemed as what ispopular within the social context - that of which is most strongly represented by whatis perceived to be popularly accepted among society

Within the Christian community, we live within the society that surrounds us. Often whatsociety deems popular becomes the norm for Christians. Think for a moment whatsociety was doing twenty years ago, that they no longer deem popular to do? Think againfor a moment and ask, what do Christians do today that is deemed wrong twenty or thirtyyears ago, but is okay today? Then ask yourselves, did society set the standards, or didChristains set the standards or is there bibical gounds for the standards?

• For example: Today in our society, men can wear ear rings (again) Generally oursociety doesn't even thinking about this. Women can percies their skin in just aboutany place and place a ring there. Today divorce is no longer looked as a majorfactor in our lives. Marriage seems less important than a few years ago. Attending alocal church seems less importance. The list could continue.

The Biblical Worldview is even different from the Christian worldview. A Christian todayhas many viewpoints different from one another. Even the difinition of the term Christianhas changed. -

Worldviews embrace the world as it exists in one's time, but only in relation to how theworld is pictured by this or that person, this or that community or institution, tainted bypossible agenda. A religious worldview can not only describe the beliefs and agenda of agroup, but the style and tone of that worldview can reflect a general emotional state ofthose who speak for that group. -Now this leads me finally to the subject of steroids in sports in this post today. --As we have shown in the last several post, often people set the viewpoint about a certainview. In our subject the use of steroids in sports, in the entertainment field, etc. 47

-Popular culture (or pop culture) can be deemed as what is popular within the socialcontext - that which is most strongly represented by what is perceived to be popularlyaccepted among society.

• Otherwise, popular culture is also suggested to be the widespread culturalelements in any given society that are perpetuated through that society's vernacularlanguage or lingua franca.

• It comprises the daily interactions, needs and desires and cultural 'moments' thatmake up the everyday lives of the mainstream. It can include any number ofpractices, including those pertaining to cooking, clothing, consumption, mass mediaand the many facets of entertainment such as sports and literature. (Comparememe.)

• Popular culture often contrasts with a more exclusive, even elitist "high culture,"that is, the culture of ruling social groups. The earliest use of "popular" in Englishwas during the fifteenth century in law and politics, meaning "low", "base", "vulgar",and "of the common people" till the late eighteenth century by which time it began tomean "widespread" and gain in positive connotation. (Williams 1985)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_culture

As I said in yesterday’s post, wrestling has shown the pop culture of our day. When Eric(my oldest son) and I went to pro wrestling in the early 80's in Coffeyville, Kansas, in a JrHi gym, there was no cussing, and no vulgar language, no drinking. Later in the late 80'sthere was an amazing change. The wrestlers were getting bigger and the crowds weregetting vulgar in their language.

Athletes and bodybuilders were getting bigger

^Growth hormone stimulates growth and cell reproduction. It is produced in the pituitaryglands, the pea-sized "master gland" that sits at the base of the brain. It has been popularin recent years with bodybuilders (as we have stated) and athletes because they believeit will increase muscle mass, decrease fat and allow them to more quickly recuperateafter punishing workouts.

-What was first a useful drug, now has been abused: How?-What Dr. Ziegler developed, with the help of the Ciba pharmaceutical company wascalled "Methandrostenolone" or Dianabol. This was the creation of the first anabolicsteroid that wasn’t simply testosterone. That was late in 1956. By the time the early1960s rolled around, Ziegler’s weightlifters were dominating American weightlifting. Andsince then, many different steroids, each with their own different set of characteristics,have been developed

-Of course, there have been other documented instances of athletes taking various drugsand other substances in an attempt to enhance their performance. Thomas Hicks, anAmerican marathoner in the 1904 Olympics, had to be revived after he drank Brandylaced with cocaine and strychnine. He won the gold medal, although I believe theBrandy/Cocaine/Strychnine cocktail never really took off in popularity among his fellowathletes. His fellow runners, the sprinters attempted to use nitroglycerine a couple of48

decades later, to dilate (expand) their coronary arteries; they later switched toexperimenting with Benzidrine, an amphetamine.

• So what am I saying, to attempt to enhance performance didn’t just happen in thelast twenty years. And it’s been known for more than fifty years. So why are we justnow beginning to say it’s wrong?

• Many such compounds had been used, but none are as powerful or provided suchrapid increases in strength and powerful as anabolic steroids. For this reason, afterits invention by Dr.Ziegler, Dianabol was quickly made available to anyone lookingfor an extra edge. It helped many bodybuilders, weightlifters, football players, andOlympic athletes train harder, longer, and more efficiently. As all steroids can do, itenhanced protein synthesis and allowed new muscle to be built at a rate that wasmuch more rapid than would otherwise be possible. And that increased musclepower and strength translated into financial rewards for the athletes who weretaking them-


Saturday, February 09, 2008F A I T H I N T H E P R E S I D E N T I A LC A M P A I G N -Thus far in the presidential campaign wehave heard more about religion and politicsthan ever before. An entire CNN program,Mitt Romney’s Texas speech, individualinterviews, campaign-trail confessions, andmore . . . and more. But has anything newcome from it? Are we more enlightenednow about religion and the qualifications ofthe candidates to serve as president?

FAITH AND THE PRESIDENCEYOver the last 40-50 years, competition overthe right to define America’s culturalfoundations has intensified. When John F.Kennedy gave his now famous Texasspeech, he and most Americans wereagreed on the simple formula of "separationof church and state." Once Kennedyassured voters that the Roman CatholicChurch would not in ter fere in h ispresidential decisions, he was off andrunning.Today, however, after Vietnam, the Civil Rights Movement, Roe v Wade, Jimmy Carter’sevangelicalism, the rise of the Religious Right, the decline of the Protestant mainline, theexplosion of home schooling, the faith-based initiative, and more, voters are much moreconcerned than in 1960 about where the candidates are coming from culturally, morally, 49

and religiously. A pledge of allegiance to separation isnot enough. -While Romney’s speech restated much of Kennedy’sargument, it tried to do more by drawing on a themefrom those American Founders who emphasizedreligion’’s political importance. A self-governing people,Washington and Adams believed, must be a moralpeople and morality depends on religion. Their appealto religion was largely for political and public moralpurposes not for ecclesiastical reasons. Thus, for all ofRomney’s confession of personal faith in Jesus Christas "the Son of God and the Savior of mankind," whatwas central in his December 6 speech was this: "It isimportant to recognize that while differences intheology exist between the churches in America, we

share a common creed of moral convictions.. . . Perhaps the most important question toask a person of faith who seeks a political office, is this: does he share these Americanvalues: the equality of human kind, the obligation to serve one another, and a steadfastcommitment to liberty?" =The religious affirmation in Romney’s speech is quite thin, the values claim general, andthe political relevance indirect and largely unhelpful. Yet the gist of Romney’spresentation is essentially the same as that of the other candidates. Reference to one’sfaith shows voters that one values religion. And the most important value of one’sreligion—whatever it is—is the support it provides for American values. Even MikeHuckabee, who wants to amend the Constitution to comply with God’s moral standardson unborn life and marriage, and who says that his faith does not merely "influence mydecisions, it drives them," concludes his web-site statement in this vague way: "Ournation was birthed in a spirit of faith—not a prescriptive one telling us whether to believe,but one acknowledging that a providence pervades our world." -Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards have also told their stories of personalChristian faith, and each story leads in the same direction—to faith in America and itspromise. In that regard, the concluding words of John McCain’s New Hampshire victoryspeech are the most fulsome of all in civil-religious fervor: "For me that greater cause [towhich to give oneself] has always been my country, which I have served imperfectly formany years, but have loved without any reservation every day of my life. . . America isour cause—yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Her greatness is our hope; her strength isour protection; her ideals our greatest treasure; her prosperity the promise we keep to ourchildren; her goodness the hope of mankind." -There is an added ingredient, to be sure, in Huckabee’s approach—a kind of postmodernidentity politics. He is direct in urging Evangelicals to vote for him because he is one ofthem. He is not a Mormon; he is neither black nor female; he is neither a businessmannor a lawyer. He is a born-again believer in Jesus Christ. -What does all of this confessing and posturing tell us? Eventually—rather quickly, infact—we and the candidates must get back to the war and the economy, to health careand immigration, to climate change and education. Yet not much has been achieved bymeans of the religious rhetoric to illuminate these political realities because thecandidates have offered only vintage, if intensified, American moral rhetoric when talkingabout faith. Separation of church and state is boilerplate. To express personal faith as amode of character-witness and as a motivation for service is no longer unusual. To locateone’s faith within America’s civil religion is obligatory. But after that it is a quick anddisconnected flight to most public policy issues. -What we have, then, in the campaign rhetoric is civil religion as ground for moral values50

and morality as ground for self-government. Yet as we know, the policy proposals offeredby the candidates are as diverse as what liberal Democrats, conservative Republicans,and those in the middle have always offered. The common values of liberty, equality, andservice open onto the familiar disputes about how much (or how little) government theself-governing people want. -What is missing from the candidates’ professions of Christian (and Mormon) faith is aphilosophy of the political community that clarifies the responsibilities of government inrelation to the responsibilities that belong to all the other institutions, organizations, andrelationships of human society. What we need is a Christian public philosophy thatconnects directly to office holding, policy formulation, and governing. Americanism andthe liberal political tradition do not generate such a philosophy, and that is why we havewhat we have. -James W. Skillen, PresidentCenter for Public Justice


Saturday, February 09, 2008M c C H U R C H F R A N C H I S I N GC O N G R E G A T I O N S

"Just like a Chick-fil-A, or McDonalds mychurch is a 'franchise,' and I proudly serveas the local owner/operator." said EddieJohnson*Just thinking before I go toLexington, Kentuckyto visit Eric and Leslie,Chad and Heatherand Kyleand attendAshland Ave Baptist Church in their newbuilding.Charles*

Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 08:18AM(-06:00)

Sunday, February 10, 2008DON'T SHAKE, DON'T BE AFRAID, DON'TWAVER, STAND FAST IN THE LORD^ If you were to see my office at home, youwould see over one hundred three ringnotebooks that I have filled with articles andnotes from my studies of theology, Bible,church growth, sermons, church ministry(ch i ld ren , young adu l ts , Chr is t ianeducation, etc) leadership, church fathers,church h is tory , and down load ing

books,and sermons by Piper, Edwards, MacArthur, Spurgeon, and Pink, and Puritanwriters, and many articles downloaded from many websites and bloggers. And this has

51

happened over the last few years. (2003-07).My father in law said my problem is, I study so much and have no outlet to give it out toothers, and the others don't want to hear what I have to say. Bob just might have a point..Nevertheless......I refuse to go to bed and sleep. I refuse to stay the same. I refuse to quitlearning. I refuse to stay down for the count of ten. I refuse to believe the Lord has calledback his calling upon my life at sixty. .Now don't think I think I am a Jeremiah, the prophet, "Lord how long do I have to preachand no one is listening." Most people have no idea what in the world I am talking abouthere, and really that is good. You don't want to let people know you're discouraged, andhurt, and disappointed. We are proud. We want people to have the impression:everything is just fine. . You go into denial that anything is wrong and before long you arejust about dead spiritually.And for this very reason is why you hear preachers drop off the face of the ministry. his isthe reason why men will just quit the ministry, drop out of church, and go into the publiclife, where there is a much better chance to succeed.. What is the verse, 2 Corinthians 13:4 for He was crucified through weakness, yet Heliveth through the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Himthrough the power of God toward you. I believe this verse speaks to all believers,” that weare armed with the irresistible power of the risen, glorified Christ”(MacArthur’s studynotes) And it’s in this power of Christ that we move and think and move . And as Iblogged this last week: And this is very personal, this verse, 2 Thess. 2:16 says, "May ourLord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given useverlasting comfort and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you inevery good word and work." .

• Don’t shake.• Don’t be afraid.• Don’t waver.• Stand fast.• Hang on to the truth, the traditions you were taught --• Hold onto everything ever taught.

^GROW BY EXPERIENCE, GROW IN YOUR UNDERSTANDING BY EACH DAY'SEVENTS.Charles E. WhisnantPosted by Charles E. Whisnant at 06:35AM (-06:00)

Sunday, February 10, 2008HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIC AND BECKY (I) . We were in the cold winter, deep in snowin the town of Wooster, the state of Ohio.Charity and I were in the Wooster BaptistTemple, where I was the Youth Pastor ofthe Teenagers, and Charity taught the Jr.High Class. We were temporarty living in ahome provided by a church member Johnand Marie Wil l iams while they wereArizona. The snow was coming down, andthe driveway was snow covered about a foot or two. Eric was ready to be born andCharity was ready to deliver and I was ready to be a dad. Okay where is the car, oh getthe keys, and how about the snow, can we get to the hospital? We arrived at the hospital.I was told that this might be a long process, so I had brought six books to read. Who toldme that? Charity was taken to the labor room, and I read books. Six hours later Eric was52

born at 6:06 a.m. Now that was fast. folks. Eric weighed in at9lbs. 8ozs! .

We came home from the hospital, and we stayed withRichard and Elizabeth Clark, until Charity's mother came fromWest Porstmouth Ohio. Mrs. Clark told me that children growup so fast. That night I could not sleep. I just kept looking atEric, afraid I would miss something. Bob and Lenora Temple

were glad to be grandparents for the first time. They arrived on Sunday afternoon, andEric was the star attraction.

In March when Eric was a month old, we took a trip to Danville, Virginia, to visit mymother Pauline Whisnant. This trip was one to remember for a life time. It snowed most ofthe way from northern Ohio and across the West Virginia Turnpike. Our car had old slicktires; only the Lord's care got us there. Mom was so glad to see her first grandchild!

In April 1971 I resigned the church and we moved to West Portsmouth, and by June 1971I was pastor of Madison Missionary Baptist Church in Minford, Ohio. I remember takingEric to church in his little baby seat and put him on the front pew while I preached onWednesday night and Charity was working for her aunt Betty Gullett.

Then four years later we moved from Minford to West Portsmouth, where we were YouthPastor at Victory Baptist Church for a year. Then we moved to Grapevine Texas. I wasMinister of Christian Education in the First Baptist Church of Haltom City, in Fort Worth,Texas, I was also working full time for Mesco Metal Building, and full time at AlCOA,Dallas Airport. Charity was staying home taking care of Eric, and was on pregnancy leavefrom Goodyear Atomic Corporation.

Now it's February 10, 1976, the weather was clear and nice. And Charity was ready todeliver our second child, Becky Faith. She was born at 8:44 a.m. I can't remember whereI was in the hospital, but I didn't take any books this time. 6lbs. and 9 ozs. She was solittle, but her birth was such a big event that it got her Grandma Lenora Temple on anairplane for the first time!

Becky was six months old when we moved to Perrysville Ohio, where I was camp directorfor Pleasant Valley Ranch and Mansfield Baptist Temple. Becky's first home was in thecamp's multi-purpose building. We lived in the rooms upstairs over the camp's kitchen.And the Camp was on three hundred acres of beautful land. .

We were snowed in for weeks as one of the biggest snow blizzards in history came in1977. We had finally moved into a house, and the natural gas line froze and the weatherwas old. I can remember Charity and I , Becky and Eric getting in bed, we were going towait the storm out. Right! No heat, wind blowing, it was below freezing! We were rescuedby a family, and for about a week we lived with them. What a wonderful life.

Then we moved to Mansfied, Ohio, I was teaching the College and Career Class and 53

working with Adam Geiss putting up aluminum siding. Eric started kindgarden and firstgrade in Mansfied at Temple Christian School.

Then we moved to Connervislle, Indiana, in 1978 where I was the Youth Pastor atCalvary Baptist Church. Eric was in the second grade. Then we moved to Cedar Lake,Indiana near Hammond, Indiana, and Eric was in the third grade in Hammond ChristianSchools. I attended the Hyles-Anderson College.

Finally we moved to Altoona, Kansas, in March 1980 where we stayed sixteen plus yearsas pastor/Teacher of the First Baptist Church. Eric finished school, and Becky was able tostart and finish school there in Altoona. Eric went to Florida and graduated from PenacolaChristian College.

That's some of the early history of Eric and Becky Whisnant.^

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIC AND BECKY!!!^Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 12:18PM (-06:00)

Monday, February 11, 2008Have You Wondered Why Your People Do Not Invite OtherPeople To Attend Your Church?.Let me ask this question: How do people see your church?The one on the left or one on the right? Are members morelikely to invite people to the church on the left or one on theright?. "Why do the members attending your church not invite other

people to come to the worshipand preaching time? They come. They’re faithful. Theygive and support, but they don’t invite other people. Ifpeople in your church are not inviting people, they are notinviting people on purpose. We think they are scared, butthey are not. They know very well how to invite people togreat stuff. They do it all the time..." . You take an averageperson who goes to a great concert; or a great movie, it’svery easy for that person to invite someone to the nextone. He went and had a great experience. He was moved,he was touched, it was a great value, and it was worth thetime and the effort. He knows that his friend is going tobenefit from it and he’s going to thank him afterward. Sohe invites him enthusiastically. They make the date, theyplan, they spend the money, they anticipate. We’re reallygood at inviting people to places that we love going and

knowing there’s a benefit at the end. So is there a Harmony.com scientific data thatwould help us as Church leaders to understand the process of getting members of ourchurch to get engage in the Great Commission?54

• So at the end of the day, maybe what you should be more focused on is helpingyour people love to come and to understand the benefit that others may have whocome after them. Maybe people aren’t inviting people to your church because theyaren’t that enthusiastic about it either.


Tuesday, February 12, 2008HAVE YOU WONDERED WHY MEMBERSDO NOT INVITE OTHER PEOPLE TOATTEND THEIR CHURCH? pt 2

Ôf course this is not true in some churches,but in many churches members may go foryears and never invite another person tocome with them to visit their church..Why do some churches have a difficult timeseeing visitors come, and if they do come,they don't say very long?

There is a sample of some responses tothis problem: -

A survey of responses to this questionswere:

1. Its pretty simple. If people love being there then they will invite others to share thatexperience. If they are only there because they feel the have to be there eventhough they hate being there then it makes no sense at all to invite others.

2. maybe it’s to hun drum and do not want to bore other people, or no one wants toinvite anyone to a troubled church, or they are just plain lazy, if the works of god isgoing on in a church you could not keep people away. there would be standingroom only. hey no power no people, if it is just a form of godliness but they aredenying the power there of , what do you really expect. if a church is full you canbelieve the works of god is going on or they are making a lot of people feel goodabout how they live,

3. For starters, I generally won’t invite someone if I know they’re already attendinganother church; the main exception would be if I know they have a particular needthat isn’t being addressed there and is likely to be (better) addressed at a differentchurch.

4. If I’m going to invite someone to church, I want to be sure that is the right "next step"for them; I don’t want to give the impression that the church will meet their needs,but rather that it is a relationship with God that is ultimately needed. Relationshipswith His people are vitally important, but secondary nonetheless..

5. Final point: we should never be afraid to invite someone to a church other thanours. My church may not be the best fit for Joe, but if he needs to plug insomewhere, I want to be able to refer him to another church that will be a better fit. 55

That means I need to do some homework about other churches in the area..

6. Part of this is of course laziness, or church irrelevance. But let me question theanalogy of the concert a little bit. Whether or not outsiders are invited to ‘church’ is afunction of what we think the Sunday service is. If it’s primarily an ‘event’, then yes,properly orchestrated, it should cause members to invite others..

7. But if it is primarily a gathering of believers, the fact that non-believers aren’tsystematically invited may be a sign of health. We don’t invite nonbelievers to takecommunion, because it presupposes the appropriate response to God’s invitation tobecome a part of his people has already been taken (viz. baptism)..

8. It’s of course possible that ‘church’ is a little bit of both (event AND gathering ofbelievers), but lack of clarity on this point will mean regular attenders will be wary ofinviting outsiders. I also want to suggest that if church services are taken to be thegathering of believers, then ‘outreach’ needs to happen in a different manner. I’ll letyou imagine just what that might look like……ashamed would be the biggest issue!!.

9. I agree with you. Not to be too cynical, but I think churches that lack excellence intheir services tend to make excuses more than adjustments. Too often whensomething is called less than great, the accusation is attacked rather than heardand examined..

10. I don’t think that every critique needs to be taken to heart, but if it is coming from aninvolved, invested, and committed individual, than it needs to be prodded for moredetail. If more churches did this, there would be a better dialogue on how to be moreeffective and visitor friendly at our services, and more effective at making an impactspiritually when people are there..

11. I will probably get some grief for this comment, but one of the things that oftenmakes it difficult to invite friends to church is the quality of music that ispresented…… for me, bad music is embarrassing is all……more often than not, the bad music comes as a result of a worship team (aka "aworship band") trying to present music that is beyond its level of expertise…

12. .13. if i, as a regular attendee, feel "on edge" or nervous because i am just not sure

what sounds will emanate from the singers or instrumentalists who are leading me, ijust have second thoughts before i would subject my unchurched friends to thesame… "special music" can be even worse, but we don’t have to go there justnow……that being said, having myself been involved in leading worship and presentingmusic, without intending to, i may have become overly critical or overly analytical… irecognize that (including myself) every worshiper brings his/her own attitude to theservice, and that attitude affects how the worshiper feels about the experience……additionally, i would say that about 50-60 % of worshipers don’t even notice "badmusic", so for them, it is a non-issue…… all in all, it seems to me that worshipmusic "style"" is less important to many participants than the "quality"… (what imean by that is that although i prefer modern or contemporary worship music, ipersonally would choose old hymns "done well", over contemporary music "donemediocrely")…if worship teams and bands would stick to what they are able to do well, i personally56

would find it easier to invite unchurched friends to the service……

14. The Lord has many ways in which He can be worshipped, but it really starts withGod, working through us, to express Himself in us.


Wednesday, February 13, 2008ATTRIBUTES OF A BIBLICAL CHURCH

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Are you tired of churches trying so hard to"entertain the lost" in their worship servicesthat they’re forgetting to "feed the sheep?"Are you tired of churches whose agendasand traditions trump the Word of God?

Maybe you’re looking for a church that is striving to be what God told us to be, and that is“The Church of the Living God, the Pillar and Ground of the Truth" (1 Timothy 3:15). If thelatter describes you, then this Baptist Church might just be what you’re looking for!

"Wherever we see the Word of God purely preached and heard, there a church of Godexists, even if it swarms with many faults."- John Calvin

1. The Bible is inerrant and infallible: "All Scripture is breathed out by God" 2 Timothy3:16 That is the Bible is true 100%. God can be known! Truth can be known.

2. The Bible is the guide for all faith and practice. "and profitable for teaching, forreproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God maybe competent, equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

3. God has called each Christian to share the Bible and God's teachings (evangelize)"God therefore and made disciples....Matthew 28:19-20. Every Christian is called toshare with others the Gospel with others.

4. Jesus Christ is God in human flesh. "In the beginning was the Word and the Wordwas with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1

5. All people are eternally lost; salvation is by faith alone, by Jesus Christ alone, byGod's grace alone. Ephesians 2:8-9

6. The glory of God is the motive of the church ministry. I Corinthians 10:31HERE IS A PRACTICAL APPLICATION TO WHAT I BELIEVE WOULD BE A BIBICALCHURCH'S DESIRE. A focus on people.

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When God speaks through song, sermon or prayer we want us to stop……and pray,repent and seek reconciliation to God and others. We want people sitting and prayingwith one another after a service or crying together in joy or pain to be a standard pictureof how much we care for one another. We want to pray for the sick, doubting, confused,depressed or tired. We desperately need to provide avenues for people to partake of thegraces of God, not just hear about them. People hear about the compassion of Jesusevery week, but how many experience it through the ministry of the local church? Peoplehear that God longs to connect to them and teach them but how many hear from Godthrough godly counsel? It is our job as a local church to see this happen and to build ateam of experienced, caring people to care for the family of God.

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I believe this kind of desire for a church fellowship would cause members to share thegospel with others and invite them to come to their church.


Thursday, February 14, 2008WHAT DOES SCRIPTURE MEAN BY

"BEING BORN AGAIN?"^"Born Again" Christians Just As Likely to BE LIKE and DO As Non-Christians^The Barnagroup made this survey: . "(Ventura, CA) - Recent legislation, lawsuits and publicdemonstrations over the legality of gay marriage are just one battlefront regarding theinstitution of marriage. A new study released by The Barna Group, of Ventura, California,shows that the likelihood of married adults getting divorced is identical among born againChristians and those who are not born again. The study also cited attitudinal datashowing that most Americans reject the notion that divorce is a sin. " . The studyidentified those who had been divorced; the age at which they were divorced; how manydivorces they have experienced; and the age at which the born again Christians hadaccepted Jesus Christ as their savior. Comparing the ages when divorced adults hadaccepted Christ and when they underwent their divorce, the researchers were able todetermine both the impact of one’s faith commitment on the resilience of the marriageand whether the divorce occurred before or after their born again commitment. Thesurvey also examined whether people believe that divorce is a sin in situations whereadultery is not involved.. Although Bible scholars and teachers point out that Jesus taughtthat divorce was a sin unless adultery was involved, few Americans buy that notion. .Now my point is not divorce, but the term used "born again." What did the Barna Groupmean by the term "born again?"

• "Born again Christians" were defined in these surveys as people who said theyhave made "a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their lifetoday" and who also indicated they believe that when they die they will go toHeaven because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ astheir savior. Respondents were not asked to describe themselves as "born again."Being classified as "born again" is not dependent upon church or denominationalaffiliation or involvement.

The same kind of statistics are given by Ron Sider in his book The Scandal of theEvangelical Conscience: Why Are Christians Living Just Like the Rest of the World? and58

by Mark Regnerus in his book Forbidden Fruit: Sex and Religion in the Lives of AmericanTeenagers.

What I am picking up on here is precisely the term "born again." The Barna Group inparticular uses it in reporting their research. So that report is titled "Born Again Christians

• Just As Likely to Divorce As Are Non-Christians." Sider uses the word"evangelicals" but points out the same kind of thing: "Only 9 percent of evangelicalstithe. Of 12,000 teenagers who took the pledge to wait for marriage, 80% had sexoutside marriage in the next 7 years. Twenty-six percent of traditional evangelicalsdo not think premarital sex is wrong. White evangelicals are more likely thanCatholics and mainline Protestants to object to having black neighbors."

In other words, the evangelical, the Christians, (of all branches) church as a whole inAmerica is seemingly not very dissimilar to the world. It goes to church on Sunday andhas a enamel of religion, but its religion is basically an add-on to the same way of life theworld lives, not a radically transforming power.

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A Profound Mistake

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Now I want to say blaring and clear that when the Barna Group uses term "born again" tocharacterize American church-goers whose lives are interchangeable from the world, andwho sin as much as the world, and sacrifice for others as little as the world, andincorporate injustice as readily as the world, and covet things as greedily as the world,and enjoy God-ignoring entertainment as enthusiastically as the world—when the term"born again" is used to describe these professing Christians, the Barna Group is makinga profound mistake.

• It is using the biblical term "born again" in a way that would make it unrecognizableby Jesus and the biblical writers.

Note the definition that the researcher use for those who are said to be "born again."

• In other words, in this research the term "born again" refers to people who saythings. They say, "I have a personal commitment to Jesus Christ. It’s important tome." They say, "I believe that I will go to heaven when I die. I have confessed mysins and accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior."

• Then the Barna Group takes them at their word, ascribes to them the infinitelyimportant reality of the new birth, and then blasphemes that precious biblical realityby saying that regenerate hearts have no more victory over sin than unregeneratehearts.

For years in my preaching/teaching, I have said, those who are born again, have adifferent point of view then those who are not born again. Yes Christians, born againpeople do get a divorce. By point in this series of articles is: ARE BORN AGAINCHRISTIANS JUST LIKE THOSE WHO ARE NOT CHRISTIANS IN THEIR BEHAVIORAND ATTTITUDE?

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How does the Scripture describe a "born again" person? 59

.

I’m not saying their research is wrong. It appears to be right. I am not saying that thechurch is not as worldly as they say it is. .

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I am saying that the writers of the New Testament think in exactly the opposite directionabout being born again. Instead of moving from a profession of faith, to the label "bornagain," to the worldliness of these so-called born again people, to the conclusion that thenew birth does not radically change people, the New Testament moves the otherdirection. It moves from the absolute certainty that the new birth radically changespeople, to the observation that many professing Christians are indeed (as the BarnaGroup says) not radically changed, to the conclusion that they are not born again. TheNew Testament, unlike the Barna Group, does not defile the new birth with theworldliness of unregenerate, professing American Christians.

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We will review what the New Testament means by "born again."


Friday, February 15, 2008ALL OF A SUDDEN "GOOD" PEOPLECOMMIT THE WORST OF CRIMES ! !

What does it mean when your are "BORNAGAIN"? Pt 2

^

Do you ever wonder why 'good people' inthe community are the very ones who commit the worst of crimes? How often have yousaid "it seems impossible that they would have done that awful crime?" You didn’t see itcoming. They gave no outward evidences that they were capable of doing those things.Sometimes we will say, it must have been the medical drugs they were on. It must be thealcohol they started drinking.

Have you noticed that people will often defend their behavior as odd, and they were notthemselves, or there was something that caused them to act in such a deleterious andharmful way? People can tell you stories how much they were nice and helpful to others,how they went to church, how they were caring to their dog. They will say they wereunder a lot of pressure at work, or at home or had been going through a number offailures.

Don’t we wonder how those young people who have all the money in the world, and60

fame, and fans of the world’s crowd, how they can be so self destructive? How oftenhave we seen those young people self destruct and often leads to death. And the medicalreport will usually report, they died of an accidental overdose of medical drugs.

Recently we learned of a sixteen year old boy who shot his parents and brother andsister. The authority could find no clue as to why he did it. Apparently he just went off andwithout warning killed his family as if there was no apparent cause.

Why "all of a sudden" we think, will people do the worst of crimes?

Five times in the last week, someone has gone into a school or college and shotsomeone, and then shot themselves? 10 students have been killed. Why?

There are NO good people on the face of the earth. We are all sinners, we are all bad,and we are all deserve HELL. We need to be "born again."

There are moments that I would say to my self, "Could I do that?" Could I get so mad thatI would shoot my wife, and stab her multiple times? Could I get so desperate that I wouldrob a bank?

Could I start using alcohol or overdose on medical drugs? Would I divorce my wife?

The answer: 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if any man be in Christ he is a new (bornagain) creature old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new." That isregeneration. That is what God does in the life of one whom he has saved.

The series of articles I am doing "What Does It Mean To Be Born Again" i.e. what does itmean when we say some one is a Biblical Christian, or what does been saved mean.What happens to a person who has been saved?


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JOHN NEWTON AMAZING GRACESaturday, February 16, 2008

.TIM AND SHERRI WHEELER, OWNERSOF MEX-ITALI RESTAURANT

."AMAZING GRACE (HOW SWEET THESOUND) THAT SAV'DA WRETCH LIKE

ME! I ONCE WAS LOST, BUT NOW .AM FOUND, WASBLIND, BUT NOW I SEE." Newton

.

Tim Wheeler I were talking about salvation and he brought upJohn Newton. John Newton wrote "Amazing Grace." For it is by grace that God savesanyone of us. Its an amazing story how God by His grace reaching down and opens ourminds and spirit to bring us to salvation..Our topic has been this week: WHAT IS THE BIBLE'S MEANING OF BEING BORNAGAIN" As Jesus said to Nicodemlus in John chapter 3 Ye Must Be Born Again.".

A BRIEF STORY ABOUT JOHN NEWTON.

• Amazing grace, how sweet the sound..." So begins one of the most beloved hymnsof all times, a staple in the hymnals of many denominations, New Britain or "45 onthe top" in Sacred Harp. The author of the words was John Newton, the self-proclaimed wretch who once was lost but then was found, saved by amazing grace.

Newton was born in London July 24, 1725, the son of a commander of a merchant shipwhich sailed the Mediterranean. When John was eleven, he went to sea with his fatherand made six voyages with him before the elder Newton retired. In 1744 John wasimpressed into service on a man-of-war, the H. M. S. Harwich. Finding conditions onboard intolerable, he deserted but was soon recaptured and publicly flogged anddemoted from midshipman to common seaman.. Finally at his own request he was exchanged into service on a slave ship, which tookhim to the coast of Sierra Leone. He then became the servant of a slave trader and wasbrutally abused. Early in 1748 he was rescued by a sea captain who had known John'sfather. John Newton ultimately became captain of his own ship, one which plied the slavetrade. . Although he had had some early religious instruction from his mother, who haddied when he was a child, he had long since given up any religious convictions. However,on a homeward voyage, while he was attempting to steer the ship through a violentstorm, he experienced what he was to refer to later as his "great deliverance." He62

recorded in his journal that when all seemed lost and the ship would surely sink, heexclaimed, "Lord, have mercy upon us." Later in his cabin he reflected on what he hadsaid and began to believe that God had addressed him through the storm and that gracehad begun to work for him..For the rest of his life he observed the anniversary of May 10, 1748 as the day of hisconversion, a day of humiliation in which he subjected his will to a higher power. "Thro’many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come; ’tis grace has bro’t me safe thusfar, and grace will lead me home." He continued in the slave trade for a time after hisconversion; however, he saw to it that the slaves under his care were treated humanely..In 1750 he married Mary Catlett, with whom he had been in love for many years. By1755, after a serious illness, he had given up seafaring forever. During his days as asailor he had begun to educate himself, teaching himself Latin, among other subjects.From 1755 to 1760 Newton was surveyor of tides at Liverpool, where he came to knowGeorge Whitefield, deacon in the Church of England, evangelistic preacher, and leader ofthe Calvinistic Methodist Church. Newton became Whitefield’s enthusiastic disciple.During this period Newton also met and came to admire John Wesley, founder ofMethodism. Newton’s self-education continued, and he learned Greek and Hebrew. . Hedecided to become a minister and applied to the Archbishop of York for ordination. TheArchbishop refused his request, but Newton persisted in his goal, and he wassubsequently ordained by the Bishop of Lincoln and accepted the curacy of Olney,Buckinghamshire. Newton’’s church became so crowded during services that it had to beenlarged. He preached not only in Olney but in other parts of the country. In 1767 thepoet William Cowper settled at Olney, and he and Newton became friends.Ephesians 2:4-9But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, evenwhen we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you havebeen saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly placesin Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of Hisgrace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been savedthrough faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyoneshould boast.

• Charles E. Whisnant

http://hstrial-cwhisnant2.homestead.com/Note my page Articles.Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 09:12AM (-06:00)

Sunday, February 17, 2008On the f ina l lap, RYAN NEWMANcaptialized on a critical drafting push fromteammate Kurt Bush, swept past TonyStwart on the outside of Turn three and

houng on for his 13th career victory. And Roger Penske first victory in 23 tries atthelegnedary NASCAR race: DODGE WINS

Dale Earnhardt Sr. pictured here (as if that is needed)Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 02:14PM (-06:00)

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READING BOOKS AND SERMONS, AND ARTICLES

I love reading, let me be clear, I love reading in order to gain knoweldge , understanding,and wisdom. I don't like reading for fun, or to relax. I like Charity to read out loud on trips.She will read an enjoyable book she likes. Charity likes to read for the enjoyment of thestory she is reading. She will read a book almost every night.64

Reading is good. Understanding what you are reading is better. Knowing how to read abook is best. How to read a book is not all that easy. You might not read the Bible thesame way you would read Elwell's Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. When I am JohnMacArthur, Jr.'s book Faith Works, or The Gospel According to Jesus verses readingJerry Falwell's Autobiography, or even Charles Spurgeon's biography "Spurgeon & Son"they would be different reading styles. When I read most books, I can't read withoutmarking, and unlining key thoughts. For example: Walter C. Kaiser, Jr, "Toward AnExegetical Theology, Biblical Exegesis for preaching and teaching. This book is marked,written in, highlighted, and read and read read, and even outlined.

Any of Watchman Nee's books are read, slowly, a little at a time. the books are markedup a lot. So would reading Wayne C. Booth's book "The Craft of Research" slow,learning, put into practice and so forth. I am still reading it. The principles in this booktakes practice, and practice.

I buy books when the need comes about. For example in 2007 when I was for a brief timethe Christian Educational director at a church last year, I bought books on the Children'sMinistry. I used those books as research for ministry. For example: George Barna's"Revolutionary Parenting". Along with about ten others books.

I bought Alexander Strauch's book " A Christian Leader's Guide to Leading With Love."and also the study guide. Then I down loaded "The Mentor's Guide to Bibical Eldership:Twelve lessons for Mentoring Elders" by Strauch and Richard Swartley. 150 pages by theway. .When Charity and I were in Lynchburg, Virginia, the beautiful mountains of Virginia, mybirth place, and home for eighteen years, last year, we were at the Thomas Road BaptistChurch, visited with Jerry and Macel Falwell, Macel gave me "Building Dynamic Faith" byJerry. Outstanding book to read. .Then I also download books and papers from the web:

• Christ-Centered Preaching: Preparation and Delivery of Sermons: Bryan Chapell &Covenant Theology Seminary: over one hundred pages.

• Why I Am A Premillennialist: Pulpit Mazazine Blog: over one hundred pages• Dispensational Hermeneutics: Thomas Ice• Dispensationalism, The Church and The New Covenant: series of papers• The New covenant by John MacArthur• The Shepherd Conferences 2007 all sessions. Over one hundred pages• John Pipers's weekly sermons. All his sermons in 2007• John MacArthur, Jr. sermons. Over thirty sermons• Ray Pritcher's weekly sermons.• Apostolic Hermeneutics: many resources: ExpositoryThoughts.blog.• John Piper's The Future of Justification. Fifty pages• Vern Poythress's New Testament Worldview. Twenty five pages• The For the Gospel Conference. All the sessions.

Then there is the reading the bloggers of Bloggers and WordPress. The weblog numberin the hundreds.

.

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As by father in law Bob Temple, Sr. says, "Charles your problem is, you learn and readso much, and you don't have an outlet to give it out, and that you get discouraged." Andfew want to hear it. People are not into Biblical language around here.

As an updated having visited Pulpit Magazine Blog

• What is so interested I just took out this book from my library today, and posted thebook on my blog. It was in 1983 when I was at the Shepherd Conference whenthere were only 300 men there. And the book I bought was “Toward An ExegeticalTheology.” I flew out of LA X and was stranted in the Denver Airport for eight hoursand I read this 265 pages book

I was so mad, because I had graduated from BBS in Bible, but I had never read such abook on preaching. So I went back home and begin developing the principles I recievedfrom the Shepherd’s Conference and John MacArthur, and this book by Kaiser. For thenext thirteen years I begin to learn how to use the principles in this book. And in thosethirteen years taught the Scriptures from a exegetical theological and build the sermonbased on the scriptural textI liked the opening remarks Kaiser said about Tenney, “I first learned the analyticalmethod of exegesis and who instilled in me an insatiable love for the Scriptures and theidea of applying the rudiments of this method to Hebrew.”

Along with John MacArthur who helped me put into practice this method of knowing theScripture and applying the prinicples when preaching.

Learning to preach that is totally Biblical in that it is guided by God’s Word in its origins,productive and proclamation.

By far the best book I have read on how to learn to preach.

.

This has been good to put down. I will address more later.

http://hstrial-cwhisnant2.homestead.com/

check out my Web site

Charles


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Monday, February 18, 2008A WEDDING CAKE TO BEHOLDUnionMills Bakery Charity and I were married in1969, and are wedding cake, well wasmade by Charity's mother as I recall. Thiswas before Lenora started the bakery. . Thewedding cake shown here was made byUnion Mills, "The Castle Cake." I am surewe could not have paid for such a beautifulcake.Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 07:26PM(-06:00)


TEN YEARS AGO TODAY: DALE EARNHARDT SR.THEINTIMIDATOR. WON THE DAYTONA 500

SEVEN YEARS AGO TODAY DALE LOST HIS LIFE ONTHE FINAL LAP OF THE FINAL TURN OF THE RACE.

Remembering No. 3: Dale Earnhardt Sr., the winningestdriver at Daytona International Speedway with 34victories, nabbed his only Daytona 500 in 1998 in his 20thattempt.

During Sunday's race, Sprint Cup members of the team he founded, Dale Earnhardt Inc.,stood on the pit wall on Lap 3, holding up three fingers to honor the 10th anniversary ofhis win.

We were living in Lexington, KY in 1998 and was watching the 500 when Dale won.Talking about being exicited, that was an understatement. I wanted to call Allen Barnhartin Altoona Kansas who was a fan too. But he recorded the race and went to work andafter the evening church services would go and watch the race. So I had towait to callAllen.

We were living in Lexington KY, in 2001 and following the morning service, a group of uswent over to a members home and we watched the 500. We left that day we did not knowDale was killed. It was only that evening when we returned to our house and waswatching the news that we learned that Dale and been killed in the wreck.

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.Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 07:36PM (-06:00)

Tuesday, February 19, 2008WHAT WE LEARN ABOUT THIS MATTEROF THE NEW BIRTH, BORN AGAINPart ThreeThere are several important questions wewill be asking.

One is: What is the new birth? That is, whatactually happens? What is it like? Whatchanges? What comes into being thatwasn’t there before?

Another question is: How does it relate to other things that the Bible says God does tobring us to himself and save us? For example, how does being born again relate to

• God’s effectual calling ("Those whom he called he justified" Romans 8:30),.

• The new creation ("If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation," 2 Corinthians 5:17),.

• God’s drawing us to Christ ("No one can come to me unless the Father who sentme draws him," John 6:44),.

• God’s giving people to his Son ("All that the Father gives me will come to me," John6:37),.

• God’s opening our hearts ("The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what wassaid by Paul," Acts 16:14)

• God’s illumining our hearts ("God. . . has shone in our hearts to give the light of theknowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ," 2 Corinthians 4:6),.

• God’s taking the heart of stone out and giving us a heart of flesh ("I will remove theheart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh," Ezekiel 36:26),.

• God’s making us alive ("even when we were dead in our trespasses, [God] madeus alive together with Christ," Ephesians 2:5),.

• God’s adopting us into his family ("You have received the Spirit of adoption assons, by whom we cry,‘‘Abba! Father!’" Romans 8:15).

How does God’s act of regeneration relate to all these wonderful ways of describing whathappened to us when God saved us?

Another question we will ask is: Why is the new birth necessary? Jesus said toNicodemus in John 3:7, "You must be born again."

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Another question we will tackle is how the new birth happens. If it is the work of God,which it is, how do I experience it? Is there anything I can do to make it happen?.And a final question we must deal with is: What are the effects of being born again? Whatchanges? What is it like to live as a born-again person?

.Millions in Church have not been Born Again. If the same as the Barna Group's.

.

I am going to adopt this study from my research that I have gain from reading from JohnMacArthur, Sr. & John Piper, & John Calvin & Arthur Pink & Jonathan Edwards, andsome Purtains preachers. And a few years of preaching on this subject. I seem to keeplearning..

One of the most intense study I have had is this subject of salvation. The purpose hasn'tbeen because I have doubt about my salvation, far from it, but to give a clearunderstanding of what the Bible means when it says "Ye Must Be Born Again."

The more you learn about what God has done in this matter of our salvation the more youwill know of how great this salvation is.



Wednesday, February 20, 2008 Why Every Calvinist Should Be a Premillennialist, Part 1[Discusses Sovereign Election, Israel, and Eschatology] 90-334John MacArthur, Jr.So I say, leave amillennialism to those kinds of people whodo not believe in the sovereign unilateral irrevocable divineelecting power of God. Leave it to the semi-Pelagians andPelagians who go in and out of salvation. It makes sense fortheir theology. Israel sinned, you’re out. Israel sinned, thepromises cancelled. Israel disobeyed the Law, you’re done. Israel crucifies the Messiah,that’s it. You forfeit everything and God gives it to somebody else, namely the church.And we hope the church can do better than Israel or the church will forfeit it all as well. Sothis is a classic perfect fit for Arminian theology..But for those who get it, for those who understand it, for those who embrace God’ssovereignty that He is the only one who can determine who will be saved and blessedand He is the only one who can save and bless, then saying that He cancelled promisesto Israel because they didn’’t believe is completely inconsistent. How could they believeunless He caused them to believe? How could He hold them responsible for notbelieving? How could He hold any of us in one sense, responsible for not believing...weare responsible for our sin, but in the end we believe because He moves on us. 69

.Now why am I making a case for this? Because when you understand God’s purpose forIsrael, you now have the foundation for all eschatology...all eschatology. You get youreschatology right when you get Israel right. You get Israel right when you get the OldTestament covenants and promises with Israel right. You get the Old Testamentcovenants and promises right when you get the interpretation of Scripture right. You getthe interpretation of Scripture right when you’’re faithful to valid rules of interpretation. Soyou interpret it right and that will allow you to understand the meaning of the Covenantsand the future of Israel, and God’s integrity is at stake. Over 200 times in the Bible God iscalled the God of Israel. Over two hundred times the God of Israel. There are over twothousand references to Israel in Scripture. Not one of them means anything but Israel. Soif you say the promises of the Old Testament that refer to Israel really meant the church,you have no precedent for such an interpretation. Not one reference anywhere inScripture and there are over two thousand, referring to Israel means anything other thanIsrael. There are 73 references in the New Testament, each of them refers to Israel..So here’s how to get the foundation for a good sound eschatology. Get election right. GetIsrael right. You got it. Cause what that means is God does know the future, God has setthe future and the future involves not only the glory of His church but the fulfillment of Hiselect people Israel with regard to everything that He promised that nation. And there area lot of people who get the first one right, they get election right, and they don’t get Israelright and they are lost when it comes to eschatology. And I’m confident that God didn’treveal prophetic truth in so much detail to hide anything, to obscure the truth, but toreveal it for our blessing, our motivation, and His glory. So my words to you are reallyvery simple foundational words. I say this, if you want to understand what the Bible saysabout the future, get these two things right...the sovereignty of God in election, and thepromises of that sovereign electing God to those people to whom He has elected...Hisredeemed church and Israel. Return the sovereignty of God in election to its rightfulplace, return the nation Israel to its rightful place, and your eschatology will unfold inbeautiful clarity.


Thursday, February 21, 2008 Tiger Woods rallies to avoid Match Play stunnerLast Updated: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 11:05 PM ETThe Associated Press

Tiger Woods produced another incredible comeback in the desert Wednesday, playingthe final five holes in five-under par to turn what looked like certain defeat into an unlikelyvictory in the Accenture Match Play Championship in Marana, Ariz.Woods fell behind J.B. Holmes on the first hole when his tee shot sailed into the desertand out of play, and he was three holes down with five to play after taking anotherpenalty shot from the desert.

But he turned it around quickly, winning the next four holes, capped by a 35-foot eagleputt on the 17th. He escaped with a one-up victory on the 18th when Holmes missed aneight-foot birdie putt.

"I just kept telling myself, even when I was three down, there's still a chance to win in70

regulation," Woods said. "I was just going to have to startplaying a hell of a lot better. Then all of a sudden, putts startedfalling in from everywhere."It started with a 15-foot birdie on the 14th, followed by ameaningless 18-foot birdie on the 15th, when he only neededtwo putts to win the hole. The first overhand fist pump came atthe 16th when he made a third straight birdie from just over 20feet to square it for the first time since they shook hands onthe tee to start the match.The loudest roar came on the par-five 17th, which Woods reached in two with a five-wood from the rough. He holed his long eagle putt for his first lead of the match, thenheld on to avoid what would have been a shocking departure.


Thursday, February 21, 2008 . Portsmouth, Ohio.Psalms 8:3-4"When Iconsider Your heavens, thework of Yourfingers,the MOON and the STARSwhichYou have ordained'What is man that Youare mindful of him?and the Son of man ,that you visited him?"Amen.http://hstrial-cwhisnant2.homestead.com/ .Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 08:18AM(-06:00)

Thursday, February 21, 2008TIM AND SHERRI WHEELER OWNERSOF MEX-ITALI RESTAURANT

http://www.mexitali.com/


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Thursday, February 21, 2008.FEBRUARY 20, 1966 EVERETTE T.WHISNANT, MY DAD DIED AT 62.

^

I wish I could put a picture of my dad onthis blog. Maybe when I can get the rightequipment I can. Forty-two years ago inRoanoke, Virgiana dad died of several

heart attacks. He was the pastor of the same church in Roanoke since 1950. OrangeAve, Williamsroad, Victory, then Roanoke Baptist Temple. Plus he was pastoring severalothers churches that was out in other areas. .

.

Later I will write more about dad, I need to get some of the facts. Ellen is helping me dothis to Ellen is working on Dad's and Momministry background.

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My brother Don e mail me tonight to affirm the date dad died. This led me to the googlesearch. I end on the Raymond Whisnant'S Whisnant Surname Center. The search wason again. I had done this last year.

.

This time I was looking for information about dad. His dad Lloyd Polycarp Whisnant, andmom Minnie Caroline Abernethy, our grandparents. Dad had two brothers, WilliamMurphy Whisnant who passed away, and Uncle Joe E. Whisnant, who is living inMaryville, TN, and a sister Nellie Whisnant who passed away in 1997, she was 88.

.

Nellie had a daughter June. I wanted to track her down, as it were. So I search the web.Scarry that you can do that. I was able to find her married name and found the phonenumber and called her. Well I had never talked to her, ever, she is 82 years old. Isn't thatsad. She and her husband live in TN. In our talk she said she had visited Joe Whisnant,this week.

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So I hung up and found Uncle Joe number and called him. Uncle Joe is 82 years old butsounds like he is 50. We had a very nice visit on the phone. He and Jean have fivechildren. Dwight, Lewis, Linda, Carol and Glen. Whom I haven't seen in forty years. Isn'tthat sad. When we were young kids we had come good times at the Whisnant /Abernethy dinners. Charity and I did visit Uncle Joe in Maryville, years ago. Goodness,that is really sad. But Uncle Joe keeps up with us by sending us his yearly ChristmasCards. I still remember th Christmas gifts he sent when we were babies.

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There are good number of Whisnant's in this country, and the sad reality I don't see orknow only a hand full of them. Thanks to Raymond, we are able to at least keep up withthem by his web site.

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I would love to link up with them via the Web or E mail. It would be nice to have a website with email's, web sites, blogs, address, of the Whisnant's family.

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Hope you and your family are doing well. If any of the Whisnant's would like to give metheir e mail I would love to write you a note.

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The picture of dad years before he died. I am not sure how old he was!

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Friday, February 22, 2008UNION MILLS CONFECTIONERYWest Portsmouth, OhioPosted by Charles E. Whisnant at 07:09PM(-06:00)

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Saturday, February 23, 2008ERIC AND LESLIE WHISNANT

Eric and Leslie have been married for twoyears and are living in Lexington, KYEric is my oldest son. Leslie's family live inSomerset KY

^Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 05:25AM(-06:00)

Monday, February 25, 2008Bob Tempe, Sr. and Frankie Dawkins(Bob's niece) (Charity's dad).WHAT DOES SCRIPTURE MEAN BY"BEING BORN AGAIN?"Born Again" Christians Just As Likely to BELIKE and DO As Non-Christians .Part 4 &WHY ALL HUMANITY NEEDS TO BEBORN AGAIN.OrWHY IS THERE A REQUIREMENT FOR A

NEW BIRTH ENCOUNTERÂlmost all groups of people in the world believe in a "god" that they in some fashionworship. For every group of people there is a different idea of how they worship. Mostgroups believe there is an after-life and some place they will go when they die. And thereare as many reasons and requirements to obtain a place in the after life as there arepeople groups. .In American society today we see a number of different people groups, those fromdifferent countries, China, India, Russia, Cuba, Brazil, Mexico, Iraq. These groups have74

their own belief about "god" and how that "god" is to be worshiped and prayed to. Theyhave their belief what that "god" requires them to be and do in order to obtain life in thehereafter. .Today we are faced with the need more than ever in America to address this issue ofwho is this God that Christians worship, and His requirements for all mankind. .With all these beliefs today we are seeing more people become confused, and havingmisgivings about what Christianity’s position is on what the Bible says about what isGod’s requirement for a person to obtain Heaven. ."Born Again Christians Just As Likely to ____________ As Are Non-Christians" BarnaGroup.Ron Sider’s book said the same thing. This seems to be saying the evangelical church asa whole in America is seemingly not very unlike the world. What seems to be happeningis that people go to church on Sunday and now Saturday and have an overlay of religionor Christianity but its religion is basically an add-on to the same way of life the worldexists, not a radically revolutionizing power. .The question is,.can the term ‘born-again Christian’ refer to or describe an Americanchurch-goer whose lives are interchangeable with the lifestyle of the world? Whose sin isas much as the world, and whose behavior instinctively is as the general behavior of theworld, they covet things as greedily as the world, and they are entertained by the samemovies and TV and games as the world is. They engage in the activities of the world asanyone else does. Put them side by side and they look like the same personality andbehavior. They both might go to the same church. They both say they "made a personalcommitment to Jesus Christ, and it’s still important in their lives today."And they believewhen they die they will go to heaven. They say they are a Christan, they say Jesus Christis important to them.. The Barna Group takes them at their words, and say they are born again, and then thisgroup will then say the reality is that these regenerated hearts have no more victory oversin than unregenerated hearts. In other words "Lordship Salvation" (a term JohnMacArthur uses) is not necessary for one to be described as born again). Here is what I am saying about the Barna Group’s report. They are right in what theydiscovered, they are wrong in the idea that they are born again Christians. I would saythe church today is as worldly as the culture. What I am saying is Paul and James, andPeter and John think is precisely the antithesis about someone who is born again. Theysay those who have been born again will have a radical change in their lives.. Yes we all sin, and yes it seems we all do things that our neighbors do, but it is not thelifestyle of the believer. There is going to be a radical change in the life of one who hasbeen changed by the power of Jesus Christ.. Note these verses I John 2:29I John 3:9I John 4:7I John 5:4I John 5:18 .


Monday, February 25, 2008FAMILY PICTURE OF EVERETTE T. WHISNANT 1948. This picture of my brother Don and my self and Mom and Dad was taken in 1948. I amon the left. Don on the right. I believe Dad was pastoring in Lynchburg, Virginia. Thosedays I don't remember. My sister Ellen is researching some of the history in those days. .I am finally learning how to use the Kodak M753 that my kids gave us for my 60th 75

birthday. It occured to me last night to takesome pictures of Dad and Mom and thenpost them on the blog. This was achallenge but as you can see I haveaccomplish this task. This could be good.Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 12:11PM(-06:00)

Monday, February 25, 2008PAULINE GREENE WHISNANT ANDEVERETTE THOMAS WHISNANT. My mother will be 86 the Lord's willing inApril 08 Dad would be 105, but he died in1966 Mom and Dad were married for 22years. You as a child view life from a child'smind. As I view my parents in thoseseventeen years, they were parents that Iloved. How I view my Dad and Mom is aview point that I have. I believed they werenearly perfect. But having children, cancause you as parents not to be so perfect. .Dad from the time I was born until he diedwas pastoring churches. He preached allthe time, we went to fellowship meetings allthe time, he was always personally involvedwith people in the church and outside thechurch. He loved preachers, evenpreachers who were abused by otherchurches. He was loved by so many.People in the church loved him. I believed

that all preachers were just like Dad, which they all should be. But few are. Dad has astory before I was ever born, since he was 44 when I was born. That story is for anotherday. But I knew my Dad as the most wonderful husband, father to us, preacher, andfriend. Dad died after several heart attacks in 1966. . Mom was playing the piano, organ,guitar, xylophone, etc. Mom was a great mother, she was a stay at home mother, i.e. shehad the house always perfect. She had three meals a day for us. Also, she was the mostwonderful Bible teacher for children ever. When I preached from the Bible I can envisionin my mind those flannelgraph Bible stories. I still can hear Mom playing the piano. Sheloved Dad; she helped him all the time. Mom helped me spell "Indians." But I must admitwe drove Mom nearly crazy at times. When Dad died in 1966, Mom was 42 years old andnever had a public job while married. But in the next 42 years she has done remarkabllywell. She chose not to remarry, breaking several men's hearts. She now lives with mysister Ellen and while her health is not so good, she is still sharp in her mind and loves usall very much. . And most of all the Loved the Lord Jesus Christ. .Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 03:06PM (-06:00)

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Tuesday, February 26, 2008WHAT DOES IT MEAN BY THE TERM'BORN AGAIN' OR THE NEW BIRTH?

part five^ We are not going to talk about theperfect Christian life or the legalistic livingof some fundamentalist groups or evendeal realistically with the failures of genuineChristians. But let’s deal with the claim byBarna that they who live indistinguishablyfrom the culture are indeed born again. .The report has done a good job in findingout the church is saturated by people who

are not truly regenerated, saved, born again believers. . THE TERM "BORN AGAIN." .FIRST let’s look into this term "born again." Another word for "born again" I used in thelast sentence. You could add to your terminology about one who has been saved isregeneration.The idea here is to say this: Can we ascribe the Barna Group term "born again" as thekind of "born again" as the Scriptures use the term? .Of course all of us have heard a number of people being "born again" in the wrong sense.Billie Jean King has been "born again,’ describing her new knee surgery. The west end ofPortsmouth, Ohio has been born again. .But what did the Scriptures intend when they used the term "born again?" .What I would like to do is show just how glorious being born again really is. I want toshow what really happens to those who have been saved, born again. and to show thatit’s not man’s work that brings about the new birth. We do not make it happen. Godmakes it happen. It happens to us, not by us.

• But it always happens through the preaching of the Word of God. 1 Peter 1:23.• BEING BORN AGAIN TAKES PLACE THROUGH THE GOSPEL 1 Peter 1:23.

If I ever tried to bring anything to the folks I preached to for twenty years it was to teachthem what happens when one becomes born again.

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1. When you are truly saved, regenerated, born again, in the grace and knowledge ofwhat the Lord has done for you, your fellowship with God will be pleasing and yourassurance that He is your Heavenly Father will be rich.

2. The church of the Lord Jesus Christ will be better when we see the real deal ofradical love and sacrifice and courage from the church and not all these counterfeitChristian that live just like the world.

3. If you know what really happens to you in your salvation, you will appreciate Godand His Spirit and His Son and His Word more exceedingly than you ever have. AndHe will be glorified.

If I ever had a theme while preaching it was showing people what happens when thereoccurs salvation, a new birth. If you want to know what a counterfeit dollar looks like,know what a real dollar looks like..

So how does God’s act of regeneration work itself out? What are the effects of being born 77

again?

.What changes? What is it like to live as a born-again person?^

WHAT TAKE PLACE IN THE NEW BIRTH

• ^John 3:1-10"Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:3 "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is bornagain he cannot see the kingdom of God" Here is what this mean: We will not besaved; we will not be apart of God’s family, and not go to heaven, but instead will goto hell, when we are not born again.

• Jesus didn’t have kind words about the religious Jewish leaders the Pharisees.Matthew 23:15 and 33. Eternity hangs in the balance when we are talking about thisidea of being born again. "Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom ofGod"..

YOU MIGHT BE ASKING, WHY ARE YOU DEALING WITH THE SUBJECT: AREN’TWE SAVED BY SIMPLY ASKING GOD TO COME INTO OUR HEARTS?

• .• Lordship salvation is confronting. When Jesus taught about this new birth He was

confronting us with our despairing spiritual and moral and legal condition apart fromGod’s regeneration grace. Before we are born again. We are born again becausefirst, we were spiritually dead. Secondly we were morally self-centered and defiant.Thirdly we were legally guilty before God’s law and under His wrath.You tell a person: "Jesus said you must be born again if you are going to see thekingdom of heaven, and you are unresponsive, corrupt, and guilty." That is rathercomforting, wouldn’t you say. Quite unsettling..

• And in reality we can’t do anything about this condition that all men have. It’s notsomething we can do ourselves but something that is done to us. John 1:13 "whowere born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God".And Peter says the same, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!According to HIS great mercy, He has caused us to be born again." I Peter 1:3. Wedo not produce in us this new birth. Here it is: God causes the new birth.


Wednesday, February 27, 2008I BROWSE THE INTERNET WHILESITTING AT MY DESK AND WATCHINGOPARAH WITH CHARITY

After a wonderful supper, Charity hasmade, after working all day at Unon Mills,and I have put in four hours at Mex-Itali. We

sit down and I am on my Gateway. First I review my website http://hstrial-78

cwhisnant2.homestead.com/ I add some material and dosome research for the site. Then I review this blog, thismorning I posted part five of the series on Being BornAgain. What does it mean to be a Biblical Christian..I am browsing and I hit several regular sites. Tonight I hitJack Hammer. And his post was"Christian Whirledview: Viewing the World through WordlyEyes." Dave Mallinak posted this article. He refers toChristopher Hitchens. As I will do, I googled Hitchens. Hesaid that CHRISTIANITY IS BAD FOR THE WORLD.

• Hitchen is an outspoken atheist and antitheist. He has written a book "God is notGreat: How Religion Poisons Everything, a massively best-selling book.

I then went to LAweekly.com/news, and read Dwayne Booth review with Hitchesn on the"Essential Stupiduity of Religion."

• Hitchens describes himself as a believer in the Enlightenment values of secularism,humanism, and reason. Now that lead me to search the difinition of those terms. Iwill give you later.

.So while I am glancing at Oprah. I am listening to all the different people and subjectsshe has on the show..And I am researching the terms that Christopher Hitchens describes himself..HUMANISM: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens

• Humanism :is a category of ethical philosophies that affirm the dignity and worth ofall people, based on the ability to determine right and wrong by appeal to universalhuman qualities —— particularly rationality.[1][2] It is a component of a variety ofmore specific philosophical systems and is incorporated into several religiousschools of thought.

• Humanism entails a commitment to the search for truth and morality throughhuman means in support of human interests. In focusing on the capacity for self-determination, humanism rejects the validity of transcendental justifications, such asa dependence on belief without reason, the supernatural, or texts of allegedly divineorigin. Humanists endorse universal morality based on the commonality of thehuman condition, suggesting that solutions to human social and cultural problemscannot be parochial 79

SECULARISM

• Secularism is generally the assertion that certain practices or institutions shouldexist separately from religion or religious belief. Alternatively, it is a principle ofpromoting secular ideas or values in either public or private settings. It may also bea synonym for "secularist movement". In the extreme, it is an ideology that holdsthat religion has no place in public life.

• In one sense, secularism may assert the right to be free from religious rule andteachings, and freedom from the government imposition of religion upon the people,within a state that is neutral on matters of belief, and gives no state privileges orsubsidies to religions. )

• In another sense, it refers to a belief that human activities and decisions, especiallypolitical ones, should be based on evidence and fact rather than religious influence.

• Secularism is not an argument against Christianity, it is one independent of it. Itdoes not question the pretensions of Christianity; it advances others. Secularismdoes not say there is no light or guidance elsewhere, but maintains that there is lightand guidance in secular truth, whose conditions and sanctions exist independently,and act forever. Secular knowledge is manifestly that kind of knowledge which isfounded in this life, which relates to the conduct of this life, conduces to the welfareof this life, and is capable of being tested by the experience of this life.

The term "secularism" was first used by the British writer George Holyoake in 1846.Although the term was new, the general notions of freethought on which it was based hadexisted throughout history.

REASON

• In western philosophy, reason has had a twofold history. On the one hand, it hasbeen taken to be objective and so to be fixed and discoverable by dialectic, analysisor study

I watched Kansas U. win tonight, then watched Kentucky Wildcats lose a 23 point leadand finally won.

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Talked to Eric and finally got to bed.

.http://hstrial-cwhisnant2.homestead.com/

Good night


Thursday, February 28, 2008OFFICE AT WORK - Doctrine of GraceSince October 2003 I have worked from this Gateway Computer and this desk in thisroom..First Baptist Church in Altoona first bought me a 40MH Memagitronic in 1985. And I stillhave this on my other desk. Many hours of typing sermons and lessons have been spendon this early computer. Many hours Charity would see my back typing notes when wemoved to Portsmouth..Since 2003 on this Gateway AOL Window 98 I have research from80

many websites having filled many hours ofstudy. Many hours typing on CorelWordPerfect put down thoughts and notesin studying the Word of God. Filling anumber of three ring binders. Pictured isone of three bookcases of binders. .

I love to read books, but so many of thebooks are now on the web. And the bestart icles are graciously put on somewonderful web sites like The Highway, APuritansmind, and CRTA.

My very best study was on the Doctrines of Grace. From Monergism.com there were over255 articles on

1. Total Inability/Total Depravity2. Unconditional Election3. Particular Redemption/Definte Atonement4. Irresistable Grace5. Perseverance of the Saints

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Just How Deep Did Adam's Race Fall?

• We cannot know God's purposes in His Grace unless we know how far we havefallen. It is essential to know the Scriptural truth about our deadness, helplessnessand rebellion if weare to understand how and why He saves us.

• Our study showed that scriptures affirm authoritatively that nothing can reverse thehuman condition save the crucifixing of God in our nature. The cure reveals theseriousness of the "disease." Man is not fit to judge and diagnose his own case. Leftto his reasoning, man will fail to assess his condition. Without an accuratediagnosis, men will settle for an ineffective cure.

• By nature man believes that there is something he can do to recover himself. Graceis not grace unless it is sovereign and free.

• God has used the "bulldozer" of His Law to remove any possibility of human meritfrom the face of the planet.

• The message is clear of man's moral inability is actually conducive to a sense ofurgency in seeking God.

• And one's view of man's depravity is inseparable from one's view of God's grace.A dear lady said to me this morning, "Its important that we do good, if we are going to getto heaven." We get to heaven on our merit of goodness? We are then most damned! Sothere is a need to learn what Scriptures speaks to this subject of Salvation.

Be sure to read and study the articles on "What Does It Mean to Be Born Again?"


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Friday, February 29, 2008SOVEREIGN, SUPREME CONTROLO V E R A L L E V E N T S A N DC I R C U M S T A N C E S .

"There was a man of the Pharisees, namedNicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. He same tosee Jesus by night, and said to Jesus:

Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no man can do these miraclesthat He does, except God be with Him."

Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews, a Pharisee. He knew that Jesus was not a ordinaryman, but a man from God. Nicodemus was a very religious man and leader.

Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Verily, verily, I say unto you: "Except a man by born again, hecannot see the kingdom of God." John 3

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"And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head overeverything," Ephesians 1:22

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How vast, how numerous, how complicated are the various events and circumstanceswhich attend the Christian here below, as he travels onward to his heavenly home! But ifall things are put under Jesus' feet, there cannot be a single circumstance over which Hehas not supreme control. Everything in providence and everything in grace are alikesubject to His disposal. There is not . . .a trial, a temptation, an affliction of body or soul, aloss,a cross, a painful bereavement,a vexation, a grief, a disappointment, a case, state orcondition, which is not put under Jesus' feet. He has sovereign, supreme disposal over allevents and circumstances. As possessed of infinite knowledge He sees them; aspossessed of infinite wisdom He can manage them; and as possessed of infinite powerHe can dispose and direct them for our good and His own glory.How much trouble andanxiety would we save ourselves, could we firmly believe, realize, and act on this! If wecould see by the eye of faith that . . .every foe and every fear,every difficulty andperplexity,every trying or painful circumstance,every looked for or unlooked forevent,every source of care, whether at present or in prospect are all at His sovereigndisposal, what a load of anxiety and care would be often taken off our shoulders! J.C.Philpot.

• The story is told about a small town in the south. For many years, this town hadbeen "dry" in that no alcohol was ever sold or served there. But one day abusinessman in the area decided to build a tavern. In response to this new tavern, agroup of Christians from a local church became concerned and planned an all-nightprayer meeting to ask God to intervene. Shortly after the prayer meeting that night,lightning struck the bar and it burned to the ground. In the aftermath of the fire, theowner of the tavern sued the church, claiming that the prayers of the congregationwere responsible for his loss. But the church hired a lawyer to argue in court thatthey were not responsible. After his initial review of the case the presiding judge82

began the trial with an official statement. He said: "No matter how this case comesout, one thing is clear: the tavern owner believes in prayer, and the Christians donot."

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We either believe like the tavern owner or like many Christians in this church. God issovereign over all things or He is not in control of anything. Either we believe that God byHis grace is the sole provider of salvation or you believe that He is not in control of who isgoing to be in the kingdom of God.


Saturday, March 01, 2008CHARITY IN 1968 IN ARLINGTONTEXASERIC IN 1971 IN WOOSTEROHIOBECKY IN 1976 IN GRAPEVINETEXAS. Looking back over the last fortyyears, and viewing these family pictures,brings back good memories. MeetingCharity while in Arlington Texas, andworking with Dr. George Norris at GideonBaptist Church was such a wonderful time.After we were married in June of 1969 andwere living in Wooster Ohio, working at

Wooster Baptist Temple, Eric was born in February 1971.Looking back, those were some good times. Perhaps one ofthe best group of teenagers that we have had. Movingforward five years to the day February 10, 1976 we wereliving in Grapevine Texas. I was working two full time jobs,while serving as Educational Director at FBC of Haltom City,in Fort Worth Texas. M.M. Mostley was the pastor. We had awonderful time at the church. Eric was five and Becky wasborn on his birthday. . While in both cases, after Eric was

born we moved to Minford Ohio to pastor the Madison Baptist Church, and with Becky wemoved to Perrysville, Ohio to be the Pleasant Valley Youth Camp Director in theMansfield Baptist Temple, under Tommy Leatherwood. . From 1971 to 1980 we were in anumber of churches. Then in March 1980 we landed in Altoona, Kansas, and were thepastor/teacher of the First Baptist Church, until June 1996. . Eric and Becky did survive.As you can see in the picture above, they are doing okay. . Eric and Becky are half of thefamily. Next Chad and Kyle... that is for another day. . Isn't it interesting, I remember frommy perspective, and Charity has a perspective too. And of course Eric and Becky wouldhave their perspective. .Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 06:52PM (-06:00)

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Sunday, March 02, 2008GROW BY LEARNING.COMhttp://www.growbylearning.com/GROW BYLEARNING WEB SITEThis web site will not take place of myBlogger only to complement it.YOU DOGROW BY LEARNINGFIVE SECTIONSTO VIEW:. Home page - Welcome, briefthoughts personal, notes. My Mission -What I am do ing and have done.Resources - Addresses of websites of

favorites. Testimonals - Comments fromreaders. Articles - Articles.Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 12:37PM(-06:00)

Monday, March 03, 2008THE WRITTEN WORDSPosted by Charles E.Whisnant at 10:03AM (-06:00)

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Monday, March 03, 2008W H A T M A K E S A N Y T H I N G I S A Y O F A N YI M P O R T A N C E S A T A L L ?So why would you listen to what I would say versus whatMarianne Williamson would say? Or any of the people onthe Oprah Winfrey Show?

.The term I looked up this afternoon was "illuminate".Marianne Williamson was on Oprah February 29, 2008.She has written several books. One is ILLUMINATA ARETURN TO PRAYER. And she is renown for her talks on"A Course in Miracles" a step-by-step method for choosing

l o v e o v e rfear. As most of the guests on Oprah, shehas a humanist approach to the spiritual.After all Oprah audience are made up ofwomen who are a mix of our culture’swomen. Her audience is not the FirstBaptist Church, USA. Williamson was theguest today, and she was addressing howwomen over fifty could take control overtheir minds and live and life.

.The need for change as we get older an emotional pressure for one phase of our lives totransition into another is a human phenomenon, neither male nor female. There simplycomes a time in our lives not fundamentally different from the way puberty separateschildhood from adulthood when it’s time for one part of ourselves to die and forsomething new to be born. . The purpose of this book by best-selling author and lecturerMarianne Williamson is to psychologically and spiritually reframe this transition so that itleads to a wonderful sense of joy and awakening.In our ability to rethink our lives lies ourgreatest power to change them. . What we have called "middle age" need not be seen asa turning point toward death. It can be viewed as a magical turning point toward life aswe’ve never known it, if we allow ourselves the power of an independent imaginationthought-forms that don’t flow in a perfunctory manner from ancient assumptions merelyhanded down to us, but rather flower into new archetypal images of a humanity justgetting started at 45 or 50. What we’ve learned by that time, from both our failures as wellas our successes, tends to have humbled us into purity. . When we were young, we hadenergy but we were clueless about what to do with it. Today, we have less energy,perhaps, but we have far more understanding of what each breath of life is for. And nowat last, we have a destiny to fulfill not a destiny of a life that’s simply over, but rather adestiny of a life that is finally truly lived.Midlife is not a crisis; it’s a time of rebirth. It’s not atime to accept your death; it’s a time to accept your life and to finally, truly live it, as youand you alone know deep in your heart it was meant to be lived. .Key words:New books, aging, ageing, longevity, gerontology, gerontological, geriatrics,geriatric, senescence, anti-aging, anti-ageing, rejuvenation, life-extension, immortality,http://science-library.blogspot.com/2008/02/age-of-miracles-embracing-new-midlife.html

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.I like google, don’t you? I googled Marianne Williamson. Who is this lady who we are tolisten to about becoming older? Why should we listen to her?.It’s always been my policy when reading any article or book to check out the author of thebook or article. First and foremost before reading and accepting any author is to learnwhere they are coming from and where they are going to take us. Then I know how toread what they are saying.

.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia .I like Wikipedia as much as I like GOGGLE SEARCH .Biography.

• Marianne hails from Houston, Texas, and was raised in a Jewish household. As arebellious child of the '60s, she has openly admitted to have delved in drugs andalcohol, as well as having a string of broken relationships. She sought spiritualawakening and discovered "A Course in Miracles," a self-study system written by aColumbia University professor who believed Jesus had dictated the words to her.Though initially turned off by the heavy emphasis on Christianity, she was able toreconcile it with her Jewish faith and popularized the course in her 1992 best-seller,A Return to Love.

Williamson served as head pastor of Renaissance Unity Interfaith Spiritual Fellowshipbefore she resigned as a result of a controversial attempt to dissolve the church's formalties to the Association of Unity Churches.

• The Renaissance was so called because it was a "rebirth" of certain classical ideasthat had long been lost to Europe.

• As Randolph Starn has put it,"Rather than a period with definitive beginnings and endings and consistent contentin between, the Renaissance can be (and occasionally has been) seen as amovement of practices and ideas to which specific groups and identifiable personsvariously responded in different times and places. It would be in this sense anetwork of diverse, sometimes converging, sometimes conflicting cultures, not asingle, time-bound culture.

• Williamson describes herself as "a mix" who does not fit a particular mold:"I'm a provocateur. I come into a situation where I don't particularly relate to any ofthe institutionalized boxes. I'm not a minister, I'm not a rabbi, but I'm totally excitedby God and Jesus. So you get this Jewish girl talking about Jesus -- it's going to getattention. It's a juxtaposition that is perhaps interesting. It's similar to what I sayabout politics in The Healing of America. It's the same with religion. One group saysit's this way, another group says it's that way, and a lot of people are feeling that,you know, 'deep in my heart I don't feel it's either way.' Well, neither do I."

• She is a former jazz nightclub singer and is a single mother of a daughter..Philosophy

• A minister in the Unity Church, the driving force behind Williamson's philosophy isto offer a New Thought approach to spirituality.

• She addresses both established Christianity and Judaism in statements such as"You've committed no sins, just mistakes." Her earliest renown was for her talks onA Course in Miracles, a step-by-step method for choosing love over fear.86

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MARIANNE WILLIAMSON WROTE THIS BOOK:ILLUMINATA A RETURN TO PRAYER

&As I like to do I looked up"illuminate":Dictionary.comeducateSynonyms: better, clarify, clear up, construe, define, dramatize, edify, elucidate,enlighten, explain, expound, express, finish, give insight, gloss, illustrate, improve,instruct, interpret, perfect, polish, uplightverb Definition: explainSynonyms answer for, clarify, elucidate, explain, illuminate, justify, rationalize, resolveAntonyms: complicate, confuse, obscure, perplex

^SO I ask again, Do you want to listen to what she has to say from her point of view?Christian Worldview vs. Worldview

.


JOHN NEWTONTuesday, March 04, 2008

"I'm not what I ought to be,I'm not what I wish to be,but through Christ,I'm not what I was" !!!John NewtonPosted by Charles E. Whisnant at 08:08PM(-06:00)

Wednesday, March 05, 2008HUCKABEE DROPS OUT OF PRESIDENTIAL RACE 2008.Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee ended his U.S.presidential bid on Tuesday after voting in four more statecontests made it clear his rival, Arizona Sen. John McCain,would be the Republical candidate in the November election..HE RAN HIS WHITE HOUSE BID ON A WING AND A

PRAYER^Well Mike Huckabee shock up the Republican Party establishment with animprobable run for its presidential nomination that energized the party's evangelicalChristian base but failed to attract moderates beyond it. His team of 30 workers did the

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improbable didn't they.Mike an eloquent speaker with a sharp sense of humor, he wooed crowds by crackingjokes, playing bass guitar and bantering on stage with martial arts guru Chuck Norris. Hewas a staunch oppostion of abortion rights and gay marriage. And had a fondness forhunting and fishing.Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 06:32AM (-06:00)

Wednesday, March 05, 2008"MAN-LAW". MANHOOD? ARE YOU CONFUSED ABOUTWHAT IS MASCULINITY? POPULAR CULTURE^ "It does not take great intellectual sophistication to see thatwe are in a period of widespread gender confusion. As withso many other developments of our times, our evolving

language betrays more substantial shifts inthe culture.""Whoa, dude, this man is not acting like aman." What's up! men? I mean how to act likea man is a humdinger of an issue if you areone! Or is it?. .Once the role of a man was described as arole of father/protector/provider, today itseems it is not considered as necessary ordeniable as it once was. .

I haven't made a study of society's view ofmen in a while. I didn't really understand "manlaw." Remember the beer TV add. Man words,now that is different for me. Sometimes men'swords that are coined are used to describe

men behaving like women. .Men once were not to act like a woman. They are not toworry about cancer, receive alimony, or get Brazilian waxes. Now manogram andmanimony and manzilian are created. Can you believe this?

Here are some man-words. The word "man" used to refer to everyone. The Bible will use"men" to generally refer to everyone. Example 'man-eater" which dates from 1600 andoriginally meant a cannibal, not a femme boys. Here is a rare coinages: man-angel (man-angel (1711) man-devil (1600), man-dinner (1832) man-dog (1884) man-flesh )1812)man-nurse (1530) man-plague (1649) man-seed (1934) man-smell (1905) man-sphinx(1864) and man-witch (1886) From the Oxford English Dictionary traces thesecoinages.."Guyliner" has been coined for the rock singers who use eye liner..

I read that "Seinfeld" used a lot of neologisms. Since I don't watch Seinfeld or any ofthose other shows that are of that style, using the terms "part woman, or man-bag." is notsomething I really understand.

With all these "man" words coming up in our words today prompted by the maleinsecurity as the root of the current slew of words. Thecultural anxiety over issues likegay marriage and partner benefits, etc. How do man identify themselves today to achanging culture? .88

Those who are in the know, and I am not one in the know, those who are good observersof language, understand well that these linguistic innovations indicate confusion..

Today our culture has made an issue of manhood and masculinity. The role of a manseems to be changing in our society.

BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE:

Can I say, if we as men look outside the Biblical perspective, where manhood is definedwe are going to be confused. When the understanding of masculinity and manhood is notbased upon the role and responsibilities that are set forth in the Bible we should notexpect to be comfortable..

Scripture defines manhood in terms of who he is and what he does in obedience to God.And when society rejects or sidelines these roles and responsibilities that do not honorfatherhood and parenthood it will sow seeds of disastrous confusion. The damage to ourlanguage is among the least of our problems.Can I also say, that the normativeexpectation of a man in the Scripture is that a young man will mature to take on the roleof "father/protector/provider."

• · Yet today it has been correctly observed by Mark Peters who writes that theproliferation of "man" terms indicates this confusion over manhood and masculinity.And that "the role of "father/protector/provider" is seen today "as not considered asnecessary or desirable as it once was" within the secular culture. Herein is a deeperissue.

And as Albert Mohler states, "Those men who are faithfully living out theseresponsibilities are not likely to be too concerned about finding true masculinity. They areliving it."

Men look at your role as a man in the role that is clearly set forth in the Scripture. Whenthe focus shifts from family to fashion accessories we are in trouble.

We lie to ourselves if we believe that we can hold onto a healthy masculinity withouthonoring true manhood" Al Mohler says.&Posted by Charles E. Whisnant on GROW BY LEARNING.BLOGSPOT.COMAND WILL BE ON GROW BY LEARNING .COMProof check by Charity March 6th 2008

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http://growbylearning.com/.


Thursday, March 06, 2008HOW SHOULD CHRSITIANS LISTEN TOOPRAH WINFREY?

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Preachers don't want to admit that their Christian membershipfolks watch Oprah Winfrey. Preachers don't want to admittheir members are watching and listening to Binn Hinn, PaulaWhite, Joel Osteen, TNN.

Preachers want you to think few in their churches arewatching Talk shows and Religious TV services. But can I sayto you, THEY ARE.

Preachers in the circles I know, would rather theirmembership would not listen to anyone but them. So preachers would be shocked toknow just how many of their members are really viewing these programs.

IS IT WRONG FOR CHRISTIANS TO WATCH OPRAH OR BINN HINN, OR THE LATEJERRY FALWELL, OR JOEL OSTEEN?

My personal opinion? No it is not wrong for believers to watch these shows. But watchwith discernment! Know the subject before you accept what they are saying. Dr. Oz isgood. Bob Greene is good. Bill Cosby is good. Dr. Phil was good..

BUT A POINT OF CONCERN ABOUT WHAT OPRAH IS DOING WITH THIS ONLINECLASS ROOM STUDY WITH ECKHART TOLLE.

Monday night's webcast was one of the largest single online events in the history of theInternet. More than 500,000 of you simultaneously logged on to watch live. They watchOprah and Tolle talk about his new book THE NEW EARTH.

WHO IS THIS ECKHART TOLLE?

• Spiritual Teacher and author was born in Germany and educated at the Universitiesof London and Cambridge. At the age of twenty-nine a profound innertransformation radically changed the course of his life. The next few years weredevoted to understanding, integrating and deepening that transformation, whichmarked the beginning of an intense inward journey. Later, he began to work inLondon with individuals and small groups as a counselor and spiritual teacher.Since 1995 he has lived in Vancouver, Canada

• Eckhart’s profound yet simple teachings have already helped countless peoplethroughout the world find inner peace and greater fulfillment in their lives. At thecore of the teachings lies the transformation of consciousness, a spiritual awakening

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that he sees as the next step in human evolution. An essential aspect of thisawakening consists in transcending our ego-based state of consciousness. This is aprerequisite not only for personal happiness but also for the ending of violent conflictendemic on our planet.

• This information comes from Eckhart Tolle's own website.Eckhart Tolle claims to have attained enlightenment at the age of 29 after suffering longperiods of depression. Tolle's non-fiction bestseller, The Power of Now, emphasizes theimportance of being aware of the present moment as a way of not being lost in thought.In Tolle's view, the present is the gateway to a heightened sense of peace. "Being in thenow" also brings about an awareness that is beyond the mind. This awareness helps intranscending "the pain-body" that is created by the identification of the mind and ego withthe body. His later book, A New Earth, further claims to explore the structure of thehuman ego and how this acts to distract people from their present experience of theworld. His other works include Stillness Speaks, a book that modernises the ancient sutraform.

The work of Eckhart Teachings is in response to the urgent need of our times: thetransformation of consciousness and the arising of a more enlightened humanity. Weorganize Eckhart Tolle's Talks, Intensives and Retreats throughout the world. We alsorecord, license, publish and distribute CDs and DVDs of his teaching events. In additionto supporting Eckhart Tolle and the dissemination of his teaching, we are committed anddedicated to serving the new consciousness and awakening of all humans on the planet.Behind the external form of what we do, and behind the business structure, lies thecompany's and our true purpose: the union with the Divine

• Enlightenment may refer to:· Enlightenment is a concept in mysticism, philosophy, and psychology.

.Should you enroll in this NEW EARTH program? You decide!.

Now should we stop watching the Oprah show? That is the choice you need to make. Butwatch with discernment..Watching any program, any movie, listening to any preacher on TV, radio or in your ownchurch, be in discernment in your mind..Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 06:47PM (-06:00)

Friday, March 07, 2008QUESTION: HOW MUCH DO PASTORSMAKE?^PASTOR'S SALARY

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• A: On average, an ordained Protestant pastor serving a small congregationreceived a median salary and housing package of $31,234, according to a study bysociologist Jackson Carroll. But there is a wide disparity in compensation betweenProtestant pastors serving small congregations and those serving medium andlarge congregations. For example, a Protestant pastor serving a congregation ofmore than 1,000 members received a median salary and housing package of$81,923. Considering that the vast majority of churches in the United States aresmall, the overall compensation package for Protestant pastors is low whencompared with teachers and social workers. Roman Catholic priests earned lessthan Protestant pastors, in part because they have no family to support. Dependingon the size of the parish, the median salary for Catholic priests runs between$21,000 and $26,095. Jewish rabbis earn more than Roman Catholic andProtestant pastors combined..

http://hirr.hartsem.edu/research/fastfacts/fast_facts.html#sizecong

PERSONAL SALARY AND TOTAL PACKAGE:

• I served in 1971-73 in Minford Ohio as pastor of a church. Salary and housing:$1,820 that is per year. ($35 per week in 1973) In 1980 my first year at FBC inAltoona Kansas, salary: $2600 plus a house. In 1996 my last year at FBC: $15,600total package. In 2001 my last church, brief stay, $24,000 total package.(Membership was 450). Last church I was asso pastor total package $10,400 in2003. Last church I worked in for a real brief time: pay: none. In all these churches Iworked just as hard as if I were getting the biggest salary. I worked full time in theministry.

• And Charity and I raised Eric, Becky, Chad and Kyle. While in Altoona, for sixteenyears, Charity didn't work outside the home. I did have a full time job working as asupervisor at at Nursing Home for ten years ($260 in 1996). And I put in over fortyhours in the ministry of the church. ($300).

PURPOSE OF THIS REPORT:• The purpose of this article is not to address what preachers should get paid.

Preachers should be paid. Personally I don't believe preachers should have anotherjob. Sometimes its necessary. Personally I don't believe preachers should everythink they are working for the Lord part time.

• I often hear at Fellowship Meetings, the comment is: "Will all the "full timepreachers/pastors stand up." What they mean is those who work only for thechurch? Every pastor should be full time in the ministry. Even when you have

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another secular job, you should give yourself to the ministry. My personal opinion.• Since there is really no biblical guidelines on salary for pastors and staff its up the

the church to make that decision. What I am saying and have practice for all myministry is do it unto the Lord. Every church has a responsibility to take care of thepastor and his family, they should have no needs that the church is not willing totake care of. FBC in Altoona, always it seemed took good care of us for sixteenyears.

. A CHURCH STAFF POSITION:• As for being on a church staff, my experience has been good and bad. Few

churches that I have been the Youth Pastor, etc. has been a pleasant experiencewith the Pastor. Pastors generally want someone they can control. Most pastors itseems that I have worked with, want us to look like them, talk like them, be likethem, and never be better then them.

• One pastor said to me "Who gave you that authority to change those chairs aroundin the class room?" I said "my position!" He didn't like that. Another time, I tooksome Deacon coats that was haning up on a rack for over two years, down,changed the coat handers, and the pastor came almost unglued. He felt he had lostcontrol of the coat hangers. I really could tell you a number of times where thepastor wanted control over the place the bus or van was to be parted. Preachers arefunny. And worse of all, when the membership begin to like you, you know you areon your way out the door of the church.

MY MOTHERS COMMENT TO ME ABOUT WORKING IN A CHURCH• I mother said to me way back in 1968, "Charles if you are successful at the church,

the pastor will have you out the door and painting his houses." And that was thetruth, and still is today. In 1968 or 2008 its still the same.

ATTITUDE YOU PERSONALLY MUST TAKE IN MINISTRY.• What personally the pastor or churches does to you, just or unjust, you must be

able to say at the end of the day, or your time at the church, "I have done with all mybeing, the best I could do, for the glory of the Lord. And I will continue to serve theLord with that spirit."

Remember this ministry is a ministry that God has called us to. Often its not what youexpected about ministry, but its what God has called us to do. & DON'T QUIT. DON'TJUMP THE SHIP.Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 06:55AM (-06:00)

Saturday, March 08, 2008SHEPHERDS CONFERENCES 2008 IDIDN'T MAKE IT

H a v i n g a t t e n d e d t w o S h e p h e r dConferences back in the days when only300 attended. But I am glad more cancome now. With today blogging, liveblogging no less, its almost like being there.Well at least you can get the notes.

Over at Pulpit Magazine sfpulpit.comhttp://www.sfpulpit.com/ Nathan has graciously written about each of the sessions. Alsothe photo above are from that sign. Also Evers Ding has done liveblogging at his sighthttp://dinghome.net/ and has done marvelous in given a description of the sessions.I firstheard John MacArthur, Jr in 1973, his tape was from Ephesians 4:12. That message 93

changed my ministry. In 1983 my first trip tothe Shepherd Conference changed myministry for ever. Those men who taught inthat conference changed my understandingof ministry in a local church, and how apastor/teacher should preach and ministerin a church.What I learned that first trip toGrace and the Conference was not what Ih a d

learned at the Hyles Pastor's School. Both were good,but the SC was more about the minister and hispreaching. Not about how to grow a church but how toknow the Scriptures.Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 08:36PM (-06:00)

Sunday, March 09, 2008WHILE THE LOVELY WHITE SNOWFALL: PERSONAL REFLECTIONS^ While the lovely white snow ( six inches)

came down over Porstmouth, we missed the heavy snow (nineteen inches) thatColumbus received, Charity and I were enjoying our day off from our jobs. . So after myregular visit to PYROMANIACS AND PULPIT MAGAZINE, reading the articles from theShepherd's Conference 2008, I cut off the Gateway. For the next few hours I worked withmy HOT WHEELS DIE CAST COLLECTION. . HOT WHEELS DIECAST COLLECTION.Ibelieve I started a collection of Hot Wheels in 1996. Before 1996 I had never bought aHot Wheel Diecast in my life, nor did I have any. My collection was sports cards. (Youcan check my blog on that story.) Then NASCAR die cast 1/24 and 1/64 cars became aninterest in 1996. Following Dale Earnhardt, Sr.'s death in 2001, I lost interest in thecollection. Then for some reason I began a collection of the first edition of the 1998 HotWheels Collection. . Followed by the 1999 and 2000 first editions. What really became of94

interest was the variations of the cars. I was able to pickup a few variations in flea markets. Then in 2006 after avisit with my nephew Stephen Sigmon, my sister Ellen'sson, I really became interested in going to Wal Mart, KMart, and Target to search for variations. "The Hunt" isreally what is fun. Stephen was gracious enough to findme several nice variations. That really started this search.. Then of late, over the last year, I have really found a lotof variations of Hot Wheels. So I began to display thesevariations. I had about twenty cars with variations. Then allof a sudden I found myself with over fifty cars with twovariations. Then there were the three car variations, thenfour, and now several cars with five variations first in 2007.Now I have over sixty cars with variations. . I have neverreally liked real cars and don't know a Dodge from a Ford.

I can pump gas, but never have changedthe oil in a car. So why do I like collectingcars? Go figure! . I thought, " I will collect all1/64 cars." So I started looking for the 1931

Doozie, '32 Ford Coupe '32 Ford '32Bugatti Type 50, '33 Ford Road, '35Cadillac, '36 Cord, '40 Ford Coupe'41Willie, and '47 Chevy. This gets worse. '50Chevy, Plymouth, '60 Lincoln, T-Bird '70'sDodge Charger, Plymouth Barracuda,Pontiac Firebird.. Oh, then the Jaguar, Corvette, Porsche,Mustang, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Mercedesand my favorite -- the Mercucy Cougar.(The best real car we have owned.) .

• My son Eric really likes riding his "bike". So guess what, I look for motorcycles. Ihave a very nice collection of bikes (about 40 different ones). And a very nicedisplay of them in my room. And since he is a Lexington Firefigher, guess what -- Ilook for fire engines

.Then I like, for some odd reason, to display out of the box, the yellow cars. I have a verynice display of these cars (over fifty). Then there are the buses, goodness, sad isn't it?. Earlier last month, I made a very nice display of over sixty cars with two variations.. So yesterday during the blizzard, I spent several pleasant hours checking out all my HotWheels. I discovered there are a number of cars that I could fit into one of the catagorgiesI have listed. I noticed that Hot Wheels makes the same cars over and over. For examplethey make the Phaeton Car over and over. . This could go on and on, but really it's not abig time killer for me. Though, it's fun for sure. Who said you couldn't still have fun atsixty..NASCAR, WHEETIES, POSTERS, SPORTS CARDS, MAGAZINES, USA SPORTSSECTIONS .I enjoy displaying my collection of NASCAR, the Dale Earnhardt Sr. collection, and theJeff Gordon collection. Today my collection is in our upstairs room. You can find a nicedisplay of Wheatie boxes, a Tiger Woods collection, A Lexmark 1/64 diecast cars

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(provided by nephew Brian Williams), and collection of Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordon,and a display of old baseball cards. And there is a nice display of sports binders of cardscollected over the last few years. . Also, I have a nice display of Starting Lineup Players.Then there are the posters of Earnhart, Griffey, Pippen, Jordon and the Chicago Bulls.Today I collect very little of these I have mentioned.. I started collecting baseball, basketball, football, hockey, NASCAR cards again in 1993until 2001 with regularity. Couldn't go into a store or flee market without buying cards.Today I have some 150,000 cards. Isn't that really great! Buying cards was rather cheap.Today I only pick up a pack and look that them. . What was really fun was going on trips.We would go to Sam's, and as Eric got older, he would buy a box of baseball cards, andwe would split them half and half. When we would leave Kansas to come to Porstmouth,Ohio, to visit family, we would stop in Pittsburg, Kan at a Flea Market and get a box of500 old cards for $5, and that entertained us for the whole trip. In Altoona, I would go withEric and Chad to card shops, and get cards. That was always great to do, and they wouldknow what to get me for my birthday and Christmas. As a matter of fact, Chad picked upsix or seven packs of cards over Christmas and gave them to me. That was really neat!Chad has a good collection of cards, and so does Eric.In the first years of our marriage, while Charity shopped I would sit out in the car readingmy Bible. When I became interested in sports cards around 1993, I would go in withCharity and shop for bargains, too. My spirituality slipped!.HERE IS THE ADDIDICTION .From 1996-2003 I was not pastoring a church, and my interest changed. From 2002-03 Iwas studying church ministry, and then I lost my job at the church. From 2003 to 2007 Ididn't have employment at a church or secular place. My interest changed to studyingover the Internet. For the next years I spend as much as eight hours a day studying theDoctrines of the Bible. There were a few attempts of seeking a place to serve in a church,but there was little interest from those churches. In 2007 I spent the whole year inresearch and study for a ministry that I believed I was going to have in a church. This wasa wonderful time to get back into ministry, but at the end of 2007 I no longer had thepositon.In August 2006 I discovered Bloggers. They have a free website that you can have yourown blog. That is, you can write your thoughts on a daily basis or how many times youwant to. This was a really wonderful thing for me. I have spent many hours studying andwriting "posts" for my "Grow By Learning" site. Today there are over 400 posts.Then in Febuary 2008 my sister Ellen, was gracious enough to get me a web site.GROWBYLEARNING.COM. She is my websister. Now this is another avenue in which Ihave to express myself in ministry.Finally, I went back to work at a secular job, Mex-Itali (the business Charity's mom anddad owned and operated for thirty-four years.) My good friends Tim and Sherri Wheelerwere nice enough to give me a job for four hours a day in October 2007.THE PURPOSE OF LIVING

My family, Eric, Becky, Chad and Kyle are living their own lives, and doing rather well, Imight say. So that part of my life is not as involved as it was. Ministry in a church at themoment has not materialized. There seems to be this idea that my service is not neededat the moment in a local church.I have to express in some way the ministry that the Lord has called me to do. While Iwould love to express my love for teaching in a local church, the opportunity has notoccured. I still have this spiritual need to express my love for the Lord and love forpeople.So there is now a mix of ministry, one 'GROW BY LEARNING' Two, at Mex-Itali, Timintroduces me as the resident chaplain. Three, my e-mail ministry as well, and my study96

over the Internet.Then in those moments to relax, I love to get into my collections.Spring is coming and I love the outdoors. Lawn mowing is what I really enjoy doing. SoonUnion Mills, Mex-Itali and our place will be ready for me to get out the old lawn mower. Ialso love walking about three to four miles a day (at least 30 minutes of that time is withCharity.) Then there is hitting the old golf balls! I gathered over 300 golf balls from thewooded trails surrounding the resort at Lake Cumberland last August! Proofread byCharity, and some added remarks.Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 08:09AM (-05:00)


pyromaniacs

• Pyromaniacs is the website that I daily visit. Those boys do a good service for ourChristian community. Phil Johnson, Dan Phillips and Frank Turk.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -SCHEDULE OF THE MORNING: WHAT IS NEW TODAY?RANDOM THOUGHTS ^ Each morning when I awake, my mind seems to be directedtoward the direction of the day. These days I am not pastoring/teaching, which was a partof my life for over thirty years, I had a specific direction for each day of the week. Myschedule was set to do certain activities. I generally knew daily what the schedule wouldbe.

These days I generally don't know how the Lord will direct my activity or thoughts. But inthe few moments before I get out of bed, ideas will come to my mind. Then I will generallymake the coffee, sit down and ponder those thoughts I had. Read the Word, talk to theLord.

Later in the morning I will awake Charity, with a hot cup of coffee, and then I will turn onthe Gateway. AOL is ready to be of service for the Internet. I will click on theCorelWordPerfect and view the articles from yesterday. I will note the e-mails. Then I willvisit some of my favorite bloggers and websites. Following this practice, I will begin tothink about what I am going to blog, what is the topic today? I may be working on aseries, or some topic will jump out at me, as a result of looking at other blogs, or a book Iam reading, or something that came to my mind before I got out of bed.

GROW BY LEARNING

This is a true statement, learning is growing. Even after living for sixty years, you are evergrowing in knowledge. For example today, I finally learned how Blogger uses the LINK tolink to websites. Now there are about a dozen other features that Blogger has that I needto learn to use. I note that many other bloggers and .com use the video. Well, that isdown the line for me. I would rather record my words in print at the moment. My Blog ismy enjoyment at the moment.

My sister as you know introduced me to my GROW BY LEARNING WEBSITE. And as a97

result of this we have communicated quite a bit over the last month, via e mail. She hasadded several websites herself.

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INTERNET IS QUICKLY BECOMING THE EVANGELISM OF THE DAY. BUT BEFOREINTERNET AND AOL ............ (another post)

EVANGELISM BACK IN MY YOUTH DAYS:

• Back in our early days, we could go door to door without any suspision from thosewho would answer our door knock. We would spend hours knocking on doors,asking people about church and their relationship with the church and the Lord. As ateenager when I was a Youth Director at my fathers church, the Roanoke BaptistTemple, often I would be invited in for a nice cup of coffee. My first paying job in1967 at Southall Baptist Church in Danville, Va. I would go out daily and do asurvey, who went to church and who didn't.

• On one of those surveys, I experienced an out-of-the-body, no body will believe,and I don't often talk about experience. I am scared of dogs, Big Time, then andnow. One day as I was walking from house to house, I came upon a big big dog.This dog came rushing toward me, and I froze. At the near point of contact with thedog, I said, "LORD!?" And at that moment the dog in mid-air, stopped. I was ratherstunned. The dog dropped and ran the opposite direction. And I went on to the nexthouse to ask if they went to church.

To continue later..........

What is being born again Note Article page.

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Tuesday, March 11, 2008NEW LINKS HAVE BEING ADDED TOGrowByLearning Blog. .I have added come websites and blogs on

the sidebar, scroll down past the subjects of my posts, past the list of this months posts,pasted the old posts, and finally you come to the LINKS. I will be adding others, but now Ihave listed several of the ones I like.

• My sister's website, and her daughter April Williams blog you need to check bothout.

• John MacArthur, Jr. of course is the model of my preaching/church ministry for overthirty years. The link is to Grace Community Church, and also the link to Grace ToYou Radio.

• The link to my website GROWBYLEARNING.COM. is listed as well.Check them out if you like. I will add another post later today.

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Tuesday, March 11, 2008SIN IS CORRECTED BY THE NEW BIRTH

1 John 3:1-10

• See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called childrenof God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did notknow him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yetappeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because weshall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as heis pure. 4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sinis lawlessness. 5 You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there isno sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinninghas either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you.Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makesa practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from thebeginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of thedevil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides inhim, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. 10 By this itis evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil:whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does notlove his brother.

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You might ask: why would the Gov. of NY (a former attorney general) who knew the laws,and even set up a program that would stop money-laundering; and who also built acareer out of prosecuting the very same crimes he is now brought into question aboutdoing himself..

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He enforced a law that banks have a system to check any deposit that came into thebank. A ghost software that checks any deposit of any amount in any account. Thissoftware will red flag any account that warrants checking into. It was this very softwarethat most likely caught Gov. Spitzer.

• Is it the statement: "Be sure your sins will fine you out." How many times over theyears have we seen pastors/preachers/ministers preach what they are against andat the very time they are preaching they are engaged in the very activity. 99

"Eliot Spitzer knew how to catch bad guys by following the money. As attorneygeneral, he once broke up a call-girl ring and locked up 18 people on corruption,money-laundering and prostitution charges. But in the end, it appears that Spitzermay have been done in by the same behavior he built a career out of prosecuting."In fact, it seems he was tripped up by some of the very financial accountingmethods he used so successfully against multibillion-dollar Wall Street firms." APreports.

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THIS LEADS ME TO OUR SERIES:

Our series we have been working on is: BEING BORN AGAIN: WHAT HAPPENS?

(February 26, 2008 last post)

As believers, those of us who have experienced the reality of the new birth, have to dealdaily with our own sinfulness, as all of us try to live in the full assurance of our salvation.Daily we have to deal with the conflict between the reality of the new birth, on the onehand, and our ongoing sin, on the other hand. So how is it possible for a person who isnot a born again believer even have a chance of not yielding to the very activity that hehimself hates.

If anyone knows the laws of New York it is the former attorney general. He was marriedfor twenty one years and had children. You ask, how can this happen to a successfulman in politics?

It's called SIN..

I don't like SIN. It's damage is worse on you than the damage from all the sun you areexposed to. It's worse on you than all the red meat you think you could eat. It's worse onyou than artificial sweeteners. It's worse on you than all the beer you could drink. SIN islike a really bad germ that is air born and in born and in all the world, and in all peoplegroups. No people group has more SIN in them then any other people group. There is nomore SIN in Hollywood than in Portsmouth, Ohio. .The issue before us is "NO ONE BORN OF GOD CONTINUES A PRACTICE OFSINNING." As to how long "continues" is, I can't say.

I WANT TO CONTINUE WITH THE LAST POST:.If we do anything that is good, that pleases God, it is the result of the new birth, not acause of the new birth. People think if we do more good than bad then we are good..Here is the hard part for people to understand. Salvation is taken out of our hands. It isnot in our control. We are totally and absolutely dependent on Someone outsideourselves..So to even those who are saved, and have really been born again, it’s very unsettling anddisturbing to hear that their salvation was not a result of anything they did, or desired, butit was all of God. If any one subject is so confronting to those whom I have taught, it’s this100

subject before us. The New Birth and or Lordship Salvation...You mean God has the absolute freedom to bring about the New Birth to whom Hedesires?.And apart from Him all of us will remain spiritually dead in our self-centeredness anddefianceOur deadness to the spiritual reality is so deep that we cannot even detect or even desirethe glory of the gospel. 2 Corinthians 4:4..So the point becomes if we are going to be born again, it will pivot absolutely and finallyon God.

.God’s decision to make us alive will not be a response to what we as spiritual corpses do,but what we do will be a response to His making us alive. That has certainly annoyedpeople quite badly and it’s very agitating to them. People have left our church when thatis my position.. So I might lose a few of the few readers of this blog. But it’s not my desire to bring aboutstress.But pray as Ephesians 2:4-5 says

• "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us,even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ, bygrace you have been saved."

It’s my duty as a teacher of the Word of God, to lift up Christ in truth in this matter of Hislife-giving grace.

THAT IS THE INTRODUCTION TO THIS CHAIN OF POSTSSO WHAT TAKES PLACE IN THE NEW BIRTH

FOOTNOTE

After hearing about the Gov. of NY, and the sinful mess, I wanted to address this issue.The news broke March 7, 2008 I believe.

After hearing about the tragic death of Eve Carson, the Sr. student from NC who waskilled. Then the young lady at Auburn U who was killed. She was shot once in the headand died. She was eighteen years old My heart broke again. Eighteen-year-old Lauren A.Burk, of Marietta, Ga., was found with a single gunshot wound on Alabama Highway 147,and was transported to East Alabama Medical Center where she died. in March 2008.

^Why? Do People KILL Other People?

^The ANSWER is : SIN The Cure is the NEW BIRTH

Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 05:16PM (-05:00) 101

Thursday, March 13, 2008OUR GOD IS A WONDERFUL GOD ANDSHEHPHERD OF OUR FAMILY

Charity took this picture March 10, 2008.I like the back ground picture of a few yearsago and note that black hair, all but gonetoday. But the kids have really grown upand are doing good..P s a l m s 6 3 : 6 - 8 O U R G O D I S AW O N D E R F U L L O R D A N D

SHEPHERD"When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches.Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. MySoul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me."

My soul follows close behind the Lord. In response to God's repeated invitation to "holdfast" to Him (Deut. 4:4, 10:20) the psalmist clings to God. Our ever unfailing commitmentto our Saviour.


Thursday, March 13, 2008THE NEW BIRTH IS A SUPERNATURALHAPPENING THAT HAPPENS TO US ^part nine (click "labels" on Born Again forthe total posts on this series)

Nicodemus knew Jesus was an authenticdivine person, but that doesn’t saveanyone. You can be amazed by all theBinny Hinn, you can have an old heart andbe amazed by what you see happen insome of these signs and wonders. It’spossible to be lost and believe miracles are from God. The devil knew that. Jesus said tohim, "Ye must still be born again."The key is not saying you agree with what Jesus does, but by experiencing the

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supernatural reality in your own life. Can I say,the new birth, salvation, is not natural, but thesupernatural. "That which is born of the flesh, isflesh, and that which is born of the Spirit isspirit." The Spirit is not a part of this earthlyworld. What happens in the new birth doesn’thappen in the natural realm, but in thesupernatural realm. God is God and He is theinstantaneous cause of the new birth

• The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not knowwhere it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of theSpirit. God the Holy Spirit must come upon you and transport new life intoexistence.

Here is the first point of the New Birth. There is a supernatural work by the Holy Spirit tobring spiritual life into being where it did not exist. As Jesus said in John 6:63, "It is theSpirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all."You know Jesus is that life that the Holy Spirit gives. If God gives you spiritual life, thatlife is Jesus Christ the Lord. Jesus said in John 14:6 "I am the way, and the truth, and thelife. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 6:35, "I am the bread of life."And Acts 20:31 "These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, theSon of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name."Therefore until there is a blending or union, connection with Jesus and a belief, a faith inHim there is no eternal life, no spiritual life. And it’s the Holy Spirt that brings us intoindispensable relationship with Christ who is the way, the truth and the life.

• From our viewpoint, the way you and I experience this new life is that faith in JesusChrist is inflamed in our hearts. Thus spiritual life and faith in Jesus Christ comesinto being at the same time. This new life makes the faith possible, and sincespiritual life always inflames faith and expresses itself in faith, there is no life withoutfaith in Jesus. And from God’s side, we are united to Christ in the new birth. That’swhat the Holy Spirit does. From our side, we experience this union by faith in Jesus.

A young lady said to me this week. "You say one needs to be elected unto salvation.What if I ask Jesus into my heart, and I am not elected?" Which I thought was a goodquestion.In John 3:6 Jesus said to Nicodemus, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and thatwhich is born of the Spirit is spirit." The flesh, i.e. the person does have a kind of life.Every human person is living flesh. But at the same time every living person does have aspirit, but to be a living spirit, or to have spiritual life, Jesus said, we must be "born of theSpirit." When one is born of the flesh, he has fleshly life, when one is born again by theSpirit he has a second kind of life, one that becomes a spiritual life in Jesus Christ.Jesus Christ is the new life that is put in us at salvation.

• Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no man comes to the Fatherexcept through me. John 14:6. "I am the bread of life." John 6:35. Then Acts 20:31"These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,and that by believing you may have life in His name."

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Here is what happens at the time of the entrance of the New Birth, or eternal life, there isa relationship with Jesus and a belief in Jesus. But for now I want to say: The New Birthincorporates us to Christ in a living union (Romans 6) Christ is life. We were dead in thespiritual sense. Christ gave us life. John 15 Christ is the vine where life flows. We are thebranches. Thus, at the New Birth there is a transcendental or supernatural creation, birthof a new spiritual life, and it is created through a joint connection with Jesus Christ. TheHoly Spirit brings us into an essential attachment with Christ who is the way, the truth andthe life.Having been saved, means you have been given new life, and that life is Jesus Christ.And Jesus said, "It is the Spirit who gives life." John 6:63. So the work of the Holy Spirit inus is known as "regeneration". The Spirit is to impart new life to us by joining us to Christ.How does this happen? We made the connection by faith. John 20:31 "These are writtenso that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing youmay have life in His name." In other words faith connects us with Christ. . Charles E.Whisnant, and proof read by Charity Whisnant. To be continued.Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 05:30PM (-05:00)

Friday, March 14, 2008THE OLD GOSPEL TENT MEETINGS

The old gospel tent meetings were a part ofmy life as a child. My father was holdingservices in a tent years before I was born in1947. Dad would go to cities and set up atent and preach for a month or more, andfrom those who were saved, a churchwould be formed.

The old picture above is one of dad's tents. My brother and I would spend a lot of hoursunder these tents.Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 07:09AM (-05:00)

Saturday, March 15, 2008BEING BORN AGAIN GIVES US A NEWNATURE AND OFF WITH THE OLDLIFEpart tenMy youngest son Kyle Whisnant

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• Having been saved, means you have been given new life, and that life is JesusChrist. And Jesus said, "It is the Spirit who gives life." John 6:63. So the work of theHoly Spirit in us is known as "regeneration". The Spirit is to impart new life to us byjoining us to Christ.

• How does this happen? We made the connection by faith. John 20:31 "These arewritten so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and thatbelieving you may have life in His name." In other words faith connects us withChrist.

A NEW HUMAN NATURENow what happens in the NEW BIRTH?

• We are connected with Christ, we are united with Jesus by faith. Now this new birthis not an improvement of our old human nature. There is an extreme makeover, thatis the old nature is torn down We are given a new human nature. The old nature isnot made over. The now indwelling Holy Spirit is forming in you a new spiritualnature.

• For those born again by the spirit there has been a new spirit put within them. Theyhave been given a new clean heart and a new spirit.

When we say that a new spirit, or a new heart, is given to us, we don’t mean that wecease to be the human being, the morally accountable self that we have always been. Inother words we are still the same individual human being.

This is why there is to be this continuity of cleansing. The old human being was notobliterated, in the new birth, sorry to say. If that had been true, the whole idea offorgiveness and cleansing would be irrelevant. There would be nothing left over as itwere from the past to forgive or cleanse.

From Romans 6:6 we are told that our old self was crucified, and that we have died withChrist in Colossians 3:3 and we are to reckon ourselves dead in Romans 6:11 and "putoff the old self" in Ephesians 4:22. But all these things mean the same human being isnot in view throughout life. It means that there was an old nature, an old character, orprinciple, or bent as it were, that needs to be done away with. Paul said I daily beat mybody into subjection.

From the human standpoint we are still human, we are still fleshly, we still need to beforgiven and cleansed. Jeremiah 3:8 put it this way, "I will cleanse them from all the guiltof their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me."

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In a sense we are still the person we have always been, and still daily need forgiven. IJohn 1:9 tells us that.

Yet forgiveness and cleansing is not enough. We need to be new. We need to betransformed. We need life. We need a new way of seeing and thinking and appraising.That is why Ezekiel says "I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit, I will put withinyou. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.And here is the point, "And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in mystatutes and be careful to obey my rules." I call this, or John MacArthur does, "LordshipSalvation."

Ezekiel profoundly proclaims the doctrines of conversion and spiritual life. The heart ofstone means the dead heart that was cold-hearted and unresponsive to spiritual reality.It’s true that before you got a new heart, you did have feeling. It could respond withpassion and desire for a lot of things. But the heart was cold toward the spiritual truth andthe wonderful ideas of Jesus Christ and the glory of God and the path of holiness. Andthat is what has to change if we are going to see the kingdom of Heaven.

So there is a conversion of the old heart, a new birth. God takes out the heart of stoneand puts in a heart of flesh. That is, "flesh" means pliable and living and responsive andfeeling, instead of being a lifeless rock.

In the New Birth, our dead, lifeless, dull, boredom with Christ is exchanged by a heart thatfeels in the spiritual sense the worth of Jesus Christ as Lord, and as God.

"I will put with you...." God puts a living, supernatural, spiritual life in our heart, and thatnew life, that new spirit, is the working of the Holy Spirit Himself giving form and characterto our new heart. Praise the Lord.

Picture a person you know who was so hard toward Jesus Christ. His spirit was so dull,and really very untouchable in his heart toward anything you would say about the Gospelof Jesus Christ. Then one day it seemed it was as if he had a heart transplant. He nowhas a warm, touchable and agreeable mind toward what you have been trying to tell himabout Jesus. The Holy Spirit pushes Himself up into it and gives spiritual, moral shape toit according to His own shape. The Holy Spirit within us, in our heart and mind takes onHis character His spirit. Ephesians 4:23. Amen.

- - - - - - - - - garrulous \GAIR-uh-lus; GAIR-yuh-\, adjective:1. Talking much, especially about commonplace or trivial things; talkative.2. Wordy.

This has been twelve pages typed from Corel WordPerfect, posted in ten parts. I know itsbeen a little wordy but I hope not trivial in its content.

Proof Checked by Charity Sunday Evening March 2 2008


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Saturday, March 15, 2008THIS PHOTO IS A VIEW OF THE STAIRLANDING IN OUR HOUSE. First Installment

THIS PHOTO IS A VIEW OF MYCOLLECTION FROM THE SIDE

Kurt Nunnenkamp said once, "Charles youdo have an addiction, its preaching andteaching."

In sixteen years as pastor/teacher of FirstBaptist Church in Altoona, Kansas I taughta Sunday School Class, preached SundayMorning, and Sunday Evening and thenagain on Wednesday Evening, and thenFundamental of the Christian Faith classduring the week. Studying was an additionfor sure. & From 1994 to 1996 Since I didn'thunt, fish, the boys and I collected sportscards. &But I had a second addition, you might say,from 1996 to 2001 when I moved toLexington Kentucky. I traded one additionfor another in those years. From 2001 topresence, I just collect a lot of dust inPorstmouth Ohio. &I really enjoy displaying my collection ofparaphernalia. The photo above is a viewfrom the top of the stairs in our house,looking down the stair landing. As you cansee, both sides and the wall is filled withthree ring binders of sports cards, display ofMichael Jordon, Scottie Pippen, Mickey

Mantle, and Dale Earnhart, and a display of NASCAR 1/24 cars. On the back wall is adisplay of my son's. He is a Firefighter, and loves riding bikes. You will note also displayof pictures on the wall as well. (Hopefully) What you are unable to see is 100,000 sportscards. - - - - - - - - - - - -


Sunday, March 16, 2008NOT EVERY CHRISTIAN IS ALWAYS HAPPY. NOT EVERY MOUSE HAS SUCH ADAY?

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• "Not every Christian is always happy. Perhaps the King of Saints gave you aseason of great joy at first because you were a raw recruit and he would not put youinto the roughest part of the battle when you had first enlisted. You were a tenderplant, and he nursed you in the hot-house till you could stand severe weather. Youwere a young child, and therefore he wrapped you in furs and clothed you in thesoftest mantle. But now you have become strong and the case is different. Capuanholidays do not suit Roman soldiers; and they would not agree with Christians. Weneed clouds and darkness to exercise our faith, to cut off self dependence, andmake us put more faith in Christ, and less in evidence, less in experience, less inframes and feelings. The best of God's children I repeat it again for the comfort ofthose who are suffering depression of spirits have their nights."

-Charles SpurgeonPosted by Charles E. Whisnant at 03:40PM (-05:00)

Sunday, March 16, 2008TENT EVANGELISM AND CHURCHPLANTINGTHE TENT MINISTRY OF EVERETTE T.WHISNANT AS I REMEMBERPREACHING UNDER THE TENT EACHNIGHT FOR A MONTH(S)&Evangelism: I don’t know the history of TentEvangelism.I need to Google that:(which I did).I only wish Dad’s experiences in the tentministry had been recorded or writtendown. Dad was in Tent Evangelism waybefore I was born. My brother Don and Igrew up with Dad preaching and Momplaying the piano. My understanding ofwhat Dad was doing, was as a youth, whoreally had little understanding of theministry. What I remember most washelping get the shavings from the local

lumber yard. Dad would get a truck and drive to a lumber yard where they would haveshavings from the lumber. I remember getting into the bin with the shavings or chips of

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wood and shoving them into the truck. We did this for hours and then went to the tent siteand shoved them onto the ground. When I was younger Dad would store the canvas tentat our house. Once I recall the tent was stretched out flat over the back yard. I wouldcrawl under the canvas from one end to the other end. My hair was totally green by thetime I got out from under the canvas.&You have heard the old phrase "THE OLD SAWDUST TRAIL" TENT MEETINGS. I recallthe days of the sawdust tent meetings in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, when I was a boy.We would witness times when hundreds of people would come ...You can see in this old sixty-year-old photograph the number of poles needed to hold upthis old canvas tent. In the aerial photograph you can see how the center pole steelspikes protrude through the bale rings in the canvas. Tents were both fascinating andeffective. I can recall trying as a young boy, to hammer a stake down into the ground.And then trying to help put the rope that would hold up the tent up. I am sure I was moretrouble than help. I recall also putting chairs up inside the tent. I recall even sleeping withfriends inside the Tent.&One of the best experiences I can remember was when Dad and Mom went toBlackstone, Virginia, and Amelia County, Virginia at the Fairgrounds. This was in theearly sixties. Dad was pastor in Roanoke, Virginia, and he knew some folks in AmeliaCounty. They asked him to come to the county and preach. So during the week all of uswent, and we stayed, as I remember, in a building that was part of a Virginia Mansion. Iunderstand we could have stayed in the Mansion but Dad didn’t want to. Dad wouldpreach all week, then go back to Roanoke on Sunday, and then back to preach the nextseveral weeks in Amelia County. Dad’s tent meetings were never less than a month.Usually at the end of the meetings, there was always a group of people that would wantto start a church in the area, and Dad would help them organize a church..To be continued

However, tent technology has changed.. Most larger, modern tents no longer use onlypoles and bale rings nor are they constructed of canvas. Larger tents today use "masts"in place of center poles and the ""fabric"" is made of hi-tech vinyl as opposed to canvas.Modern tents are often referred to as "tensile structures"..Proof Read by Charity Whisnant


Monday, March 17, 2008TIGER BIRDIES 18 TO RUN STREAK TO 5 ON PGA

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ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONALPRESENTED BY MASTER CARDP R E S E E N T E D B Y M A S T E RC A R D M A R C H 1 6 , 2 0 0 8 &Tiger Woods holed a remarkable 24-yardputt at the 18th to win the Arnold PalmerInvitational at Bay Hill as he continued hissix-month winning streak..Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 08:59AM(-05:00)

ROANOKE BAPTIST TEMPLEMonday, March 17, 2008

YOUTH DIRECTOR OFR O A N O K E B A P T I S T T E M P L E ,R O A N O K E , V I R G I N I ADecember 1963 - February 1966

When I was the Youth Director of RoanokeBaptist Temple from Dec 1963 thruFebruary 1966 in Roanoke, Virginia, ouryouth group had a wonderful time. Melvin

Gray, my assistant, who was saved in our church during a revival meeting, loved helping.Melvin provided transportation for us. He worked at the Bus Station and was able to getus this bus for a youth trip. .While I was still in Jefferson High School dad asked me to be the teacher of the YouthClass. Donnie Taylor the teacher of the class left for the War in 1963. It was a wonderfulexperience as teacher of this class. For twenty-seven months, until my father died, wereally had some wonderful times. While I played football at Jefferson and playedbasketball and other sports and club activities at the school, I was very involved with theministry at the church. We were having activities each night with the youth during theschool week, and we had a lot of activities during the summer. And I was dating Sandra110

Richardson for three years. .T h o s e t w e n t y m o n t h s w e h a d amembership of thirty boys and forty girls.We established a good ministry with theyouth. We began the "Team Captains"concept, which was the program we used ineach church that we were to go in thefuture. Of course, after forty five years Icannot remember them all, but some Iremember most: Those I have already

mentioned above, and others: Jean Cundiff, Linda and Joyce Clay, Margie Pugh (herparents were very active in our church) Bonnie Greer, Sue Crigger, Brenda Williams,Barbara Eakin, Sue Becker, Beverly Dodson, Gary Correll, David Crager. Wayne andJimmy Sanders who were our best friends. I have a list of over eighty, but these are theones I really remember the best. I would really love to have a reunion of members ofRBT. .Dad always had a local radio program and during this time we were the director of aYouth Program each Sunday Afternoon live on the radio. We had a thirty minute programof music and I would preach. Donald and I would also go to preach in other churches fora Youth Rally.Youth Camp was part of our ministry at RBT. Each year our youth group would travel toNorth Caroline to camp. Those were some very good days. I only wish I had pictures ofthose days.

Photo One: Charles Whisnant baseball at youth camp..Photo Two Front RowOnes I can remember: Ellen Whisnant, Elaine Clay, Denny Campbell, Henry Clay, MelvinGray Sandra Richardson, Algie Myers, Donald Whisnant, Robert ShaverPhoto Three: Algie Myers at Youth Camp.Photo Five: Robert Shavor, Myself, and Donald, Sue Crigger, Barbara Campbell, the BusDriver, and Melvin Gray.



The Origin Of The Saying "Don’t Drink the Kool-Aid"

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In November of 1978, the world was shocked by the suicide deaths of 913 members ofthe People's Temple cult. Jim Jones, the leader of the group, convinced his followers tomove to Jonestown, Guyana, a remote community that Jones carved out of the SouthAmerican jungle and named after himself. Jones constantly feared losing control of hisfollowers. His paranoia was the main reason he moved the cult to Guyana.

The mass suicide occurred after U.S. Rep. Leo Ryan of California and a team ofreporters visited the compound to investigate reports of abuse. After some members triedto leave with the congressman’s group, Jim Jones had Ryan and his entourageambushed at the nearby airstrip. He then ordered his flock to commit suicide by drinkinggrape-flavored Kool-Aid laced with potassium cyanide.

The mass suicide wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision. During the weeks that precededthe dreadful event, Jones had conducted a series of suicide drills, according to survivors.An alarm call would sound and every person in the camp would line up to receive a fataldosage. These exercises in insanity proved that all of the adults at the compound knewwhat would be the result of their actions.

The People’s Temple did not start off as your average mind-controlling cult. It initiallygained much respect as an interracial mission for the sick, homeless and jobless. JimJones did not manifest his darker side until near the end.

One lasting legacy of the Jonestown tragedy is the saying, "Don’t drink the Kool-Aid."This has come to mean, "Don’t trust any group you find to be a little on the kooky side."

Of course, you would have to know of Kool-Aid’s dubious connection to Jim Jones tounderstand the proverb.

Maybe this is why I have come to like the seach engine to "Google" a new term'smeaning, I want to research the person, book or idea. And I also have come to likeWikipedia, that gives data on just about anything.

You can be sure that there is an open or a hidden agenda that is being set forth in mostmovements. Don't drink the kool-aid until you have checked the ingredients.

And this post is a set up for what I want to address as a Don't Drink the Kool-Aid.


Wednesday, March 19, 2008HOW DO YOU SAY YOU BECOME A CHRISTIAN?WHAT’S RIGHT? WHO’S RIGHT?CONTROVERSY, HAVE YOU NOTICED, IS PREVALENT, COMMONPLACE

Controversy, fair and balanced points of view?112

It’s only on FOX News, the Church doesn’thave it.

I have heard "hate speech" from preacherson the subject of salvation, as well as "hatespeech" from preachers on the KJV onlyfolks. I use the term "hate speech" becausethey have such harsh words for those whohold the position that is not theirs.

There has been no subject that hasreceived such reaction from people as the subject of "HOW DOES A PERSON BECOMEA CHRISTIAN?"

• One dear saint while I pastored Madison Baptist said, "Pastor, please! I don’t needanother heart attack from the discussion of election.". There is no subject that ismore rejected from both points of view as to how a person can become a believer inJesus Christ.

• While pastor/teacher at FBC in Altoona, KS. The topic of election was always thehardest for people to understand.

• When I taught the discipleship class at Bigelow Church for a month, the topicbecame a very hot issue at the time. And after that class, I spent the next threeyears on the study of the Doctrine of Grace.

What is your point of view on how you become a Christian? What I am saying is, how doyou say you became a Christian?

This is the way I became a Christian! This is how I remember how I became a Christian...How has your understanding of becoming a Christian changed since you have beensaved? What I understood at seven years old is different now, as to what happened whenI was saved..

"Why am I what I am as a Christian? There is only one answer, I have been "highlyfavored" by the grace of God. I give Him all the glory. "He that glorieth, let him glory in theLord (I Corinthians 1:31). Is this your view of salvation? Are you giving the entire glory toGod, or are you reserving a little for yourself? Are you saying that it is your belief thatsaved you? If so you are detracting from the glory of God. The glory is entirely His - "tothe praise of the glory of His grace in which he has highly favored us in the beloved."- Martin Lloyd Jones (from An Exposition of Ephesians)

Justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. This is thearticle by which the church stands or falls. There is no gospel except that Christ’ssubstitution in our place whereby God attributed to Him our sin and credited to us Hisrighteousness. Because He endured our judgment, we now walk in His grace as thosewho are forever pardoned, accepted and adopted as God’s children. There is no basis forour acceptance before God except in Christ’s saving work, not in our flag-waving, churchdevotion or moral decency. The gospel declares what God has done for us in Christ. It isnot about what we can do to reach Him. We reaffirm that justification is by grace alonethrough faith alone because of Christ alone. In justification Christ’s righteousness isassigned to us as the only possible satisfaction of God’s perfect justice. We deny thatjustification rests on any merit to be found in us, or upon the grounds of an infusion of

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Christ’s righteousness in us, or that an institution claiming to be a church that denies orcondemns sola fide can be recognized as a legitimate church.- - - Adopted from the Bible, but in part from the Cambridge Declaration

• One said the other day, "I hate that text which says, "Jacob I loved, but Esau have Ihated." "Why" said a friend; "what is the difficulty to your mind?" The reply was, "Icannot see why God should hate Esau." "No," said our friend. "I am not at allsurprised that God hated Esau, but I am greatly amazed that God loved Jacob."

transmute \trans-MYOOT; tranz-\, transitive verb:1. To change from one nature, form, substance, or state into another; totransform.2. To undergo transmutation.


Wednesday, March 19, 2008E R I C A N D L E S L I E A N D Z I P P YW H I S N A N T


Thursday, March 20, 2008I N 1 9 4 7 W E W E R E L I V I N G I NLYNCHBURG VIRGINIA. THE PHOTO ISA POSTCARD THAT WENT OUT TORADIO LISTENERS FROM ALL OVERTHE WORLD. . Dad and Mom had been onthe radio for several years before. I have aNewsletter from 1944 in which mom wasthe Editor. I will try to take a pix. One ofthese days I hope to get a scanner. . Iunder stand I was popular with the

listeners. I have heard from several people that they had a copy of this postcard. Momwas twenty-four years old I believe, and dad was fourty-two I believe. . Dad was pastor ofthe Ward Street Baptist Church in Lynchburg, and later the Park Ave Baptist Church inLynchburg. Mom played the piano, and was a wonderful soloist, I understand. I do knowwhen I got older I thought she was very good. . Everette T. Whisnant, and PaulineGreene Whisnant and Charles E. Whisnant -Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 06:33AM (-05:00)

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Thursday, March 20, 2008THIS LITTLE GIRL DAD IS HOLDINGHER, AND THEN MOM IS HOLDING HERAND I am STANDING UP (I think), thepictures are rather old, (sorry Ellen) Then Ibelieve Ellen is in her teens. I think. This isreally fun. But by pix taking could take alesson from someone. I wish these pictureswere clear but at least you can get a littleview of us when we were younger. Wewere living in Roanoke Virginia. Dad waspastor of the Williamsroad Baptist Church,then Victory Baptist Church and later the

Roanoke Baptist Temple. All the churcheswere of the same membership, we justmoved. (I think). . Dad and Mom were dailyinvolved in the ministry of evangelism andthe local church, but they were alwaysinvolved with their children. I owe a lot tomy dad, and mom. There are a few stories Iwould like to tell about Ellen as a child. Shewas really loved by her ten year olderbrother. Even if Don and I had her playingthe piano, when she couldn't yet sit up, and

she fell off the bench. But she has doneokay. .Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 04:43PM(-05:00)

Friday, March 21, 2008THE ATONEMENT OF JESUS CHRIST THE MOST IMPORTANT AND SIGNIFICANTEVENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD WAS THE CRUCIFIXIONOF JESUSCHRIST Part One When I was saved! .Most people know that Jesus was crucified almost 2000 years ago in Palestine. Somepeople even have an idea as to why Jesus was crucified, or at least what Christians sayHe was crucified. They seem to know that his death on the cross had something to dowith ones salvation, and going to Heaven. .When you question folks regarding the biblical, theological significance of Jesus's personand work most people are quite ignorance of God's Word. .Terms like "atonement" and "substitutionary work" and "reconciliation" are unknown tomost people today. .I am not sure that as a youth I understood those terms. As a fundamental Baptist those

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terms were way too big. I think I was incollege before I heard those terms. Yet thel ibrary that dad had was f i l led withtheological books, and Charles Spurgeonsbooks were on the front row. I even readSpurgeon a lot, and used his outlines asstudy tools to teach the Psalms, and othersermons I would preached. .The word "atonement" is a theological termthat is used to describe the substitutionarywork of Christ. The word occurs in the KJV inRomans 5:11, and the basic meaning of theterm is "reconciliation." (another big word). .The word "atonement" is takes on themeaning of Christ's work of redemption on

behalf of His people. From Genesis 3:15 to the New Testament, the theme was aboutChrist and His need to become the Savior. .THE DEATH OF CHRIST ON THE CROSS. The center of the Christian faith is the death of Christ on the Cross. Its the very heart ofour faith. The New Testament writers ascribe the saving efficacy of Christ's work directlyto His death, or sometimes used "His blood," even sometimes "His cross."

• Romans 3:25• Romans 5:9• I Corinthians 10:16• Ephesians 1:7, 2:13• Colossians 1:20• Hebrews 9:12,14• I Peter 1:2, 19• 1 John 1:7, 5:6-8

Now this whole topic would take a book or two to fully address. People have a number ofideas as to why Christ died on the Cross. And a number of reasons are giving as to whathappen as a result of Christ dying on the Cross. Why was it necessary for Christ to die?Why did God require Himself to die on the Cross? And what did the shedding of his bloodhave to do with salvation? And many can't figure out all that went on in the OldTestament with the blood, the killing of animals. And why was it necessary to redeempeople as a result of what Adam did in the garden?

Most of us were saved as a youth, and had no idea of the atonement. Many of us couldn'tunderstand why we would even go to Hell and not to Heaven. Why would God let any ofus go to Hell? Why we needed to be "saved?? Saved from what we would ask? And thatterm "sin", we were "sinners" where did that come from? I knew that I had taken somecandy from across the street, but that was'n real bad, besides I got caught and punish byDad, but I didn't think it would cause me to go to Hell. You know?

I had a hard time knowing who Jesus Christ was! Of course I must say I slept a lot inchurch. Thank goodness Mom was a good Sunday School teacher. But I didn't get awhole lot out of preaching (sorry Dad). But I did learn about sin, and Heaven, and Hell,and the need to "get saved." I knew if I didn't do something I was really in trouble about

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getting to Heaven. I wasn't really ready to go to Heaven at five or seven.

Now when Evangelist Bob Obton came to our church, and the preached, the oldfashioned way, and he did some really neat stuff to get our attention. He would bend atwo penny nail and would get into a bag and have it locked, and we would escape. Thatwas impressive.

At the end of his sermon, he would ask, "WHO WANTS TO GO TO HEAVEN?" Well ofcourse who wouldn't, right? So I went to the front of the church to see how I could get toHeaven from Roanoke, Virginia. (had to do that,sorry).

Here is what I remember: "Charles do you know John 3:16?" "No." I said. "And you are apreachers son and you do not know John 3:16?" I really felt bad about that. So I wentback into the back room to learn that verse. Then I believe someone help me to learn theverse and what they believed the verse meant. We are sinners, and need to be saved,and Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave, and if we had faith to believe thatby Jesus dying on the cross He made it possible for us to be saved. I believed that forsure. That is about all I remember.

Was I saved that Sunday Morning? Good question. I didn't understand the "atonement." Ireally didn't know why it was necessary for God to have His Son Jesus to be born, andlive and die for me in the first place. But you know, something happen in my life that day,that really changed my ability to understand all this about Jesus Christ. And when Momwould teach and Dad would preach, I got it. Of course, not theologically.

Looking back, knowing what I know now, theologically, I believe I was saved then.Because of God's grace, He saved me the moment my heart was open to His grace, andthe faith to believe was not mind but Christ.

Part Two later:


Saturday, March 22, 2008ON THE PHYSICAL DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST

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• Jesus of Nazareth underwent Jewish and Roman trials, was flogged, and wassentenced to death by crucifixion. The scourging produced deep stripelikelacerations and appreciable blood loss, and it probably set the stage forhypovolemic shock as evidenced by the fact that Jesus was too weakened to carrythe crossbar (patibulum) to Golgotha. At the site of crucifixion his wrists were nailedto the patibulum, and after the patibulum was lifted onto the upright post, (stipes) hisfeet were nailed to the stipes. The major pathophysiologic effect of crucifixion wasan interference with normal respirations. Accordingly, death resulted primarily fromhypovolemic shock and exhaustion asphyxia. Jesus’ death was ensured by thethrust of a soldier’s spear into his side. Modern medical interpretation of thehistorical evidence indicates that Jesus was dead when taken down from the cross.(JAMA 1986; 255:1455-1463)

• Read this article on the Physical Death of Jesus Christ, it is amazing.• Click on the title

Jesus was lying in the tomb during the Sabbath, and the Pharisees secured Romanguards to keep watch of the tomb (Matt. 27:61-66; Mark 15:47; Luke 23:55-56).[Harold W. Hoehner, Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ, 92] The above picture.

.


Sunday, March 23, 2008RRESURRECTION MORNING AT FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, ALTOONA,KANSAS^Sunday Morning Sunrise Services were a part of my youth in Roanoke Virginia,then when I was pastor/teacher in FBC in Altoona, those Sunday Morning services at theNunnenkamp's were the best times of the year..OUR PRAYER IS THAT JESUS CHRISTHAS BECOME LORD OF YOUR LIFEPosted by Charles E. Whisnant at 07:32AM (-05:00)

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Sunday, March 23, 2008 TEMPLETEMPLE BAPITST CHURCH,PORTSMOUTH OHIO EASTER SUNDAYMARCH 23, 2008Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 12:38PM(-05:00)

Sunday, March 23, 2008OUR YOUNGEST SON CAME TO VISITUS SUNDAY


Monday, March 24, 2008OUR SPIRITUALITY IS FOUND IN THE LORD JESUSCHRIST NO OPRAH,SORRY ABOUT THAT!Î started thisarticle here. This MONDAY Opray is having her 4th sessionon the "NEW EARTH>"

Anytime 1.8 million people converge for any objective on a regular basis, there’s a story. 119

Have you really taken the time to take al o o k a t w h a t t h i s n e w s p i r i t u a lenlightenment is all about? Have any of thereaders of this blog really though theremight be something good about what

Opraha is saying? What ever you faith or belief, any new movement such as this with somany members so rapidly increasing warrants analysis. If you know me, I have nevertaken any book or person at face value, I will always analize what they are saying andwhy they are staying what they are writing. .During the month of February, you heard on The Oprah Winfrey Show, you heard themask, "Are You Ready to Be Awakened?" They began an interactive class on the interent. Iwas beginning to think could this be another cult? So I looked up the word cult. Wikipediasays, the word cult "typically refers to a cohesive social group devoted teo beliefs orpractices that the surrounding culture considers outside the mainstream, with a notablepostive or negative popular perception." My understanding of the book "New Earth," isclearly the views are not typical mainstream views. My understanding of the material hasthe concepts presentsed require you to suspend critical thinking and say there is only"the Now." They give such phrases like, "If you are aware, you cannot be totallypossessed by the ego, by the thought form or the emotional form." .A seed is planted in your mind, that is very small, and then they seed is watered little at atime, and before you know it, the seed has sprouted up in your mind, and before long it’sa full grown concept that you know believe.. In the book Tolle says, "this book itself is a transformation device that has come out ofthe arising new conscious. The ideas and concepts presented here may be important, butthey are secondary. They are more than signposts pointing toward awakening. As youread, a shift takes place within you." .

ROBERT J. LIFTON

• In 1961, Robert J. Lifton wrote the definitive book on the subject "THOUGHTREFORM, and the Psychology of Totalism after studying the effects of mind controlon American prisoners of war under the Communist Chinese.

• One of the factors Robert Lifton describes is the concept of ‘LOADING THElNGUAGUE." He said: "The group interprets or uses words and phrases in nenewways so that often the outside world does not understand. This jargon consists ofthought-terminating clicki’s which serve to alter members’s thought process toconform to the group’s way of thinking."

JAY LIFTON

Jay Lifton (born May 16, 1926) is an American psychiatrist and author, chiefly known forhis studies of the psychological causes and effects of war and political violence and forhis theory of thought reform. He was an early proponent of the techniques ofpsychohistory.

• Lifton's 1961 book Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: A Study of"Brainwashing" in China was a study of coercive techniques that he labelled thoughtreform or "brainwashing", though he preferred the former term. Othes have labelledit also as "mind control". Lifton describes in detail eight methods which he says areused to change people's minds without their agreement:

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• Milieu Control -- The control of information and communication.• Mystical Manipulation -- The manipulation of experiences that appear spontaneous

but in fact were planned and orchestrated.• Demand for Purity -- The world is viewed as black and white and the members are

constantly exhorted to conform to the ideology of the group and strive for perfection.• Confession -- Sins, as defined by the group, are to be confessed either to a

personal monitor or publicly to the group.• Sacred Science -- The group's doctrine or ideology is considered to be the ultimate

Truth, beyond all questioning or dispute.• Loading the Language -- The group interprets or uses words and phrases in new

ways so that often the outside world does not understand.• Doctrine over person -- The member's personal experiences are subordinated to

the sacred science and any contrary experiences must be denied or reinterpreted tofit the ideology of the group.

• Dispensing of existence -- The group has the prerogative to decide who has theright to exist and who does not.

Contrary to popular notions of "brainwashing", Lifton always maintained that suchcoercion could only influence short-term behavior or produce general neuroses, notpermanently change beliefs or personality. Psychologists like Margaret Singer andSteven Hassan (author of the book Combatting Cult Mind Control), later loosely adaptedhis theories and applied his terms "totalism" and "thought reform" to the practices ofcertain religious and other types of groups

TOTALISM: THOUGHT REFORM

• Totalism, a word first used in Thought Reform, is Lifton's term for thecharacteristics of ideological movements and organizations that desire total controlover human behavior and thought. (Lifton's usage differs from theories oftotalitarianism in that it can be applied to the ideology of groups that do not wieldgovernmental power.) In Lifton's opinion, though such attempts always fail, theyfollow a common pattern and cause predictable types of psychological damage inindividuals and societies. He finds two common motives in totalistic movements: thefear and denial of death, channeled into violence against scapegoat groups that aremade to represent a metaphorical threat to survival, and a reactionary fear of socialchange.

In his later work, Lifton has focused on defining the type of change to which totalism isopposed, for which he coined the term the protean self. In the book of the same title, hestates that the development of a "fluid and many-sided personality" is a positive trend inmodern societies, and that mental health now requires "continuous exploration andpersonal experiment", which reactionary and fundamentalist movements oppose.

According to Penguin Publishers, "A NEW EARTH" will be the biggest selling book of alltime.

Those who have researched Oprah Winfrey, and those who have influenced her, say sheis the most powerful woman in the world, and she has made it her mission in her ownwords, "transform the world." Her "spiritual" evolution and the persistent determination of 121

her mission.

• She is trying to change South Africa, in the girls home. Then she backed Obama.Oprah said of Obama, "He has an ear for eloquence and a tongue dipped in theunvarnished truth."

• So when did she cross over from TV personality to spiritual and political advisor tothe masses? It all started ever so slowly years ago........ and isn’t that the way all willgo.

Charles E. Whisnant


Tuesday, March 25, 2008NOW LET'SLOOK AT THISMATTER OFATONEMENT:part two .

Here are a few questions we need to answer:

.(one bookcase of books in Library).

· Did God because of something within His own nature orsomething intrinsic to man have to save sinners?

· Did God's attributes of love, mercy and compassionnecessitate or force Him to act?

.· Could God have left the whole human raceto perish in their sins if He so desired?Here is the answer to these questions:

.· The scriptural answer as I understand it:God's decision to save a people for Himselfwas a free choice that was not determinedby any internal or external necessity.> Paul says that God's predestination of theelect to salvation in Christ was "according tothe good pleasure of His will" Eph 1:5."Jesus Christ..gave Himself for our sins, thatHe might deliver us from this present evilage, according to the will of our God and

Father, Galatians 1:4. In Colossians, Paul said, "it pleased the Father..to reconcile allthings to Himself by Him."(1:19).

These verses I believe clearly show that God's decision to save sinners was a freesovereign choice.122

Have you wondered why the Bible often speaks of salvation, being born again, as a "freegift" from God? So what does this mean? It doesn’t mean that achieving redemption waswithout cost. I Corinthians 6:20, 7:23 Christians are "bought at a price." Christ redeemedthe church with His own precious blood (1 Peter 1:19). So this free gift refers to the factthat God imparts salvation to the elect freely or voluntarily..God was not obligated to save anyone, but out of His own good pleasure He gave"freely"..God did not have to save anyone! What do you mean by that? But He "freely" did. AsPaul said that believers are "justified freely by His grace." Romans 3:24; that God will"freely give us all things," Romans 8:32,; that the Holy Spirit enables us to "know thethings that have been freely given to us by God"I Corinthians 2:12. This is whathappened when the Holy Spirit enabled me at seven, I believe, to understand what JesusChrist was freely giving to me, salvation..God’s free spirit in giving salvation to the elect, (that is a term I have used forever tomean that God elects people unto salvation, He personally brings people unto Himself,not by anything we do but wholly by His own free will), is directly connected with thebiblical concept of grace.

What do you mean?

GRACE as I understand, is that God gives His favor and salvation to those who deservewrath and hell-fire, to those who hate God and are His enemies. Salvation that ispresented in the Bible is never given by obligation or debt. Nor given by God seeingbefore hand one’s faith, good works, or bloodline, or nationality. Those things havenothing to do with God’s free choice to give as He Himself is glorified. Remember thatverse in Romans 9:18 "Therefore He has mercy on whom He will, and whom He will Hehardens.". So was this sovereign good pleasure of God just a decision that was done purelyarbitrarily. No. This atonement, the means whereby God could bring one to salvation,wasby an act that was rooted in His nature. That was ‘love." John 3:16 "For God so loves theworld that he gave His own begotten Son." And I John 4:9-11, "In this the love of Godwas manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the World, thatwe might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us andsent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loves us, we also oughtto love one another."

Here it is about atonement, the love of God is the spring from which the atonement flows.Jesus’ death was the absolute manifestation of God’s love. "But God" in Romans 5:8, "inthat while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." That is love..In Romans 8:29 Paul writes that God’s love preceded election. He loved us first, thenelected us to Himself. "For whom He foreknew , He also predestinated to be conformedto the image of His Son." "To love before hand.".Why did Jesus come and die? He didn’t have to. We were all His enemies. No one,nobody loved Jesus. He loved us so, that He did come, and die on the cross..God so loved, that He by His free sovereign choice, freely gave grace to those who byHis good pleasure, He chose to bring to Himself. Why He set His love on me, I don’t 123

know; but I know it was He who first set His love on me.Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 09:08AM (-05:00)

Tuesday, March 25, 2008THEOLOGICAL LIBRARYBINDERSFrom 2003 thru 2006 I made a study of the Doctrinesof Grace. Through the Internet and my TechnicalLibrary Books, studied the major doctrines of the Bible.While I have studied Theology for thirty years, I havejust begun to know a little about the theological aspectof the Bible. Understanding Theology in Bible BaptistSeminary in Arlington Texas was brief for three years.Dr. George L. Norris was a master of Theology, thetime spend on these subject was limited. And takingLibery University of Life Long Learning Master'sprogram was very good as well. But to spend so muchtime on each topic was just wonderful. The journey isnot over yet..

SOME TOPICAL STUDIEs

• Arminianism, Semi Pelagianism• Atonement of Jesus Christ Definite• Atonement: Definite• Assurance• Perseverance of Saints• Bad Theology: Synergism, Seeker Sensitive Purpose Driven Model, Antinomianism,

No Lordship, Legalism, New Perpective, Open Theism, Religious Pluralism,Relativism, Tolerance, Hyper-Calvinism, Finneyism, Oneness Pentacostalism,Liberal Theology, and Neo-Orthodoxy.

• Biblical Theology• Calvinism: Five Points• Church Confessionals• Covenant Theology• Cross/Crucification• Depravity of Man• Election• Eschatology in Reformed: Israel, Amillennialism, Dispensational, Historical

Premillennialism, Postmillennialism, Full Preterism,• Fall of Man• Five Solas of the Reformation:

1. Sola Scripture: Scripture2. Solus Christus: Christ3. Sola Gratria: Grace4. Sola Fide: Faith5. Soli Deo Gloria: Glory to God Alone• Foreknoweldge of God• Free Will:• God's Will• Grace Alone124

• Grace Key Passage• Holy Spirit's Work• Irresistible Grace• Jesus Christ in Salvation• Justificaiton• Monergism• Ordo Salutis: The order of Salvation• Original Sin• Predestination• Providence of God• Regeneration, New Birth• Reformed Theology: Reformation• Repentance• Redemption• Soteriology/Salvation• Sanctification• Salvation Sermons• Glorification• Heaven• Hell• History and Historical Theology• Structure of Scripture• Apologetics• Critical Thinking• Church Theology• Total Depravity• Sovereignty of God

These studies came by researching the topic, downloading the articles from a number ofwriters, preachers and theologicans. Each topic had as many as 100 articles and someover 200 articles.


Wednesday, March 26, 2008JANUARY 15, 2000 - LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADERNEW .

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WHEATIES AT KROGERS

Charity had picked up a box of Wheaties at Kroger, back in 1999 and at the counter shemet Beverly Fortune, staff writer. Beverly made comment about Charity buying a box ofWheaties. Charity said, "My husband collects Wheaties". Beverly said, I am a staff writerfor the Lexington Herald, and I am doing a series on Collectors, could I come by andinterview your husband about his collection?" Charity said, "Charles would be happyabout that."

Sure enough, several weeks later, I received a phone call, from Beverly and we set upan appointment. She came to the house and was really in shock when she saw mycollection. We spent several hours talking about the collection. Then a few weeks later,the article appeared in the Herald-Leader.Beverely writes "Last night at 12:30 a.m. I went to Kroger's and found a new box ofWheaties," said Whisnant, a Baptist minister who lives on North Ashland Avenue. Witheach new Wheaties purchase, Whisnant carefully opens the bottom of the box and pullsout the bag of cereal, so he doesn't dent the top." That was it, placed in the center pageof the Home & Garden insert of the newspaper. There was a front page picture as shownin the above photo. and two photos on the inside page.This article in the Herald Leader, went out through the Knight-Ridder News Agency allover the United States. Really. Over the next year, I received a number of calls fromChicago, Ill. Ashville, NC. , Mass., Texas, Mich., and a number of letters. One person,sent me a set of pictures of his collection of Wheaties. .

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One person, called and asked if my father's name was Everette Whisnant. She said sheand her husband were saved in a Tent meeting in Ashville, NC, and my dad hadestablished a church in Ashville. She said the church is doing good today. She said ourfamily had been to their home many times when I was very young. Amazing. Herhusband had passed away a few weeks before she called, and they did not know wherewe were living the last thirty years. She had seen the article in their local newspaper, andfor some reason she read the article. Now that was amazing that she would read it. Howshe knew that was a Whisnant in the picture I will never know.CharlesPosted by Charles E. Whisnant at 06:33AM (-05:00)

Thursday, March 27, 2008THE NAME OF "EASTER"Name of Easter

The origins of the word "Easter" are notcertain, but probably derive from Estre, anAnglo-Saxon goddess of spring TheGerman word Ostern has the samederivation, but most other languages followthe Greek term used by the ear lyChristians: pascha, from the Hebrew

pesach (Passover).In Latin, Easter is Festa Paschalia (plural because it is a seven-day feast), which becamethe basis for the French Pââques, the Italian Pasqua, and the Spanish Pascua. Alsorelated are the Scottish Pask, the Dutch Paschen, the Danish Paaske, and the SwedishPask.Date of Easter .The method for determining the date of Easter is complex and has been a matter ofcontroversy (see History of Easter, below). Put as simply as possible, the Westernchurches (Catholic and Protestant) celebrate Easter on the first Sunday following the firstfull moon after the spring equinox. .But it is actually a bit more complicated than this. The spring equinox is fixed for thispurpose as March 21 (in 2004, it actually falls on March 20) and the "full moon" is actuallythe paschal moon, which is based on 84-year "paschal cycles" established in the sixthcentury, and rarely corresponds to the astronomical full moon. These complexcalculations yield an Easter date of anywhere between March 22 and April 25. .The Eastern churches (Greek, Russian, and other forms of Orthodoxy) use the samecalculation, but based on the Julian calendar (on which March 21 is April 3) and a 19-year paschal cycle.Thus the Orthodox Easter sometimes falls on the same day as the western Easter (itdoes in 2004), but the two celebrations can occur as much as five weeks apart. .In the 20th century, discussions began as to a possible worldwide agreement on aconsistent date for the celebration of the central event of Christianity. No resolution hasyet been reached. . History of Easter and the Easter Controversy. There is evidence that Christians originally celebrated the resurrection of Christ everySunday, with observances such as Scripture readings, psalms, the Eucharist, and aprohibition against kneeling in prayer. {6} At some point in the first two centuries,however, it became customary to celebrate the resurrection specially on one day eachyear. Many of the religious observances of this celebration were taken from the JewishPassover. . 127

The specific day on which the resurrection should be celebrated became a major point ofcontention within the church. First, should it be on Jewish Passover no matter on whatday that falls, or should it always fall on a Sunday? It seems Christians in Asia took theformer position, while those everywhere else insisted on the latter. The eminent churchfathers Irenaeus and Polycarp were among the Asiatic Christians, and they claimed theauthority of St. John the Apostle for their position. Nevertheless, the church majorityofficially decided that Easter should always be celebrated on a Sunday. Eusebius ofCaesarea, our only source on this topic, reports the affair as follows: .A question of no small importance arose at that time [c. 190 AD]. The dioceses of allAsia, as from an older tradition, held that the fourteenth day of the moon, on which daythe Jews were commanded to sacrifice the lamb, should always be observed as the feastof the life-giving pasch, contending that the fast ought to end on that day, whatever day ofthe week it might happen to be. However it was not the custom of the churches in the restof the world to end it at this point, as they observed the practice, which from Apostolictradition has prevailed to the present time, of terminating the fast on no other day than onthat of the Resurrection of our Saviour. Synods and assemblies of bishops were held onthis account, and all with one consent through mutual correspondence drew up anecclesiastical decree that the mystery of the Resurrection of the Lord should becelebrated on no other day but the Sunday and that we should observe the close of thepaschal fast on that day only.With this issue resolved, the next problem was to determinewhich Sunday to celebrate the resurrection. The Christians in Syria and Mesopotamiaheld their festival on the Sunday after the Jewish Passover (which itself varied a greatdeal), but those in Alexandria and other regions held it on the first Sunday after the springequinox, without regard to the Passover. .This second issue was decided at the Council of Nicea in 325, which decreed that Eastershould be celebrated by all on the same Sunday, which Sunday shall be the first followingthe paschal moon (and the paschal moon must not precede the spring equinox), and thata particular church should determine the date of Easter and communicate it throughoutthe empire (probably Alexandria, with their skill in astronomical calculations). .The policy was adopted throughout the empire, but Rome adopted an 84-year lunar cyclefor determining the date, whereas Alexandria used a 19-year cycle. } Use of thesedifferent "paschal cycles" persists to this day and contributes to the disparity between theeastern and western dates of Easter.Catholic Encyclopedia.Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 06:59AM (-05:00)

Thursday, March 27, 2008DEPRESSION: TAKE A BRIEF LOOK: part one

Depression has been called "a room in hell," "a howling tempest in the brain.". In 1621,Robert Burton put his finger on it, "They are in great pain and horror of mind, distractionof soul, restlessness, full of continual fears, cares, torment, anxieties, they can neitherdrink, eat, nor sleep.." His description caputres the experience of million of people who atthis very moment that you are reading this struggle with depression. . In the photo on theright:

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• On the Threshold of Eternity. In 1890, Vincent van Gogh painted this picture seenby some as symbolizing the despair and hopelessness felt in depression. Van Goghhimself suffered from depression and committed suicide later that same year.

Depression can make the most dedicated friends, family, and ministers feel incompetentbecause there are times when it seems absolutely resistant to change. But here is what Iknow, depressed people have an inner spirit like all the rest of us, and they can berenewed by faith even in the midst of the pain.

The basic steps to follow with those who have depression, a term that is generally usedby society at large.

1. Understand the experience of depression. Understand what people mean by"depression"

2. Make tentative distinctions between physical and spiritual symptions. The need abe physical that can be treated, but it could be spiritual that also needs to beaddress.

3. This distinction will allow you to focus on heart issues. In doing this if a person isnot a Christian, the hope I trully believe is in knowing Christ as LORD. If a person isa Christian than the hope is still in Christ, and a bibically understanding of what thatperson is suffering can be address. Personally I believe in a believer, the issuecould be one of "faith" in the providence and will of God.

4. Its possible and I understand and often happens, that when issues of life is notaddress, there is pain of emotions. The longer one does not address the issues thatis causing the pain, the deeper the problems becomes.

5. Address the issue with some one who is a Christian, who will be willing to addressthe issue from a biblical point of view.

Every Person In Life has to Deal with Living Life


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Friday, March 28, 2008COMPETENT TO COUNSEL BIBLICALLY


Saturday, March 29, 2008OLIVER B. GREENE, EVANGELIST,TEACHER

A office and library to die for.

Now "The Gospel Hour" headquarters is the new home for The Jay E. Adams Ministry130

As a boy I grew up listening to Oliver B. Greene on radio in Roanoke Virginia. Dad hadmost of his books on the Bible. In 1966 I meet him at the Baptist Tabernacle in Danville,VA.

• Dr. Oliver B. Greene founded the Gospel Hour, Inc. in 1956 as a Christian outreachusing radio, personal appearances, books and audio tapes. The radio program,which began on one station in Georgia, spread through syndication until it reachedacross the nation. At one time the program was heard on more than 150 stations.The program is currently heard on more than eighty stations in America; onCaribbean Radio Lighthouse, which carries the program throughout the Caribbeanarea; and worldwide by way of the internet.

• Dr. Greene began preaching as an evangelist in the early 1940's and wentwherever he was invited to preach. This eventually led to his standard practice ofholding revivals in churches and arenas during the winter and holding tentcampaigns in the summer. His tents were quite impressive, the largest one being300 feet long and 150 feet wide. He also travelled extensively overseas, visiting andraising money for missionaries in many different countries. He was truly a "triplethreat", spreading the gospel through public speaking, the written word and themedium of radio. His personal ministry ended suddenly on July 26, 1976 when hedied of an aneurism in the heart. However, through the prayers and donations ofmany friends the ministry has continued and reaches thousands daily throughoutthe world.

• The Gospel Hour check this out.


Saturday, March 29, 2008OLIVER B. GREENE A MAN THAT CAUGHT MYATTENTION FOR CHRIST

My father really liked Dr. Greene, and we had the radioon each day to listen to him teach verse by verse theWord of God. My heart and mind was stirred to knowthe Word of God in such manner.^ Oliver B. Greene1915 - 1976 "See the river of bloodthat ran from the slit throats of innocent animals throughfour thousand years of time from Eden to Calvary. Seethe vast multitude of weary, sin-laden souls as theywent to altars of sacrifice with their offerings...But now,see Christ, the Lamb of God...and the offering in Hisown blood made once for all....Only Jesus could makethe announcement, 'It is finished!'""From disgrace to

grace" is not our title for one of America's greatly used men of God-that was OliverGreene's own appraisal of himself. He was born on February 14, 1915 in Greenville,South Carolina.

Oliver's youthful life was that of a wastrel, living in wanton wickedness. Drinking, stealing,bootlegging, immorality-he was a veteran of all those vices. But at age twenty, God savedthat wayward youth when he attended a revival meeting (solely in an attempt to date apure country girl) and heard a sermon on "The wages of sin is death." 131

That night he was convinced, convicted and converted! He got a mighty good dose ofsalvation! Five months later God called him to preach. To prepare for this, he attendedNorth Greenville Baptist College but was expelled in his second year because of hisreluctance to cooperate with the denominational program.

Early in life it was immediately evident Oliver B. Greene was an independent Baptist.Through all of his ministry he carried the honor of being one who "could not be bought."In 1939, the 24-year-old bought a tent, and for 35 years he conducted revivals all acrossAmerica, until failing health forced him to stop.

Carefully kept records reveal that over 200,000 found Christ under his ministry. Perhapshis single greatest campaign was in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, where 7,000professions of faith were registered. He held his last tent revival in Bel Air, Maryland (thistent was 100 feet by 300 feet).

Surely another genius of Greene's labors for Christ was his radio ministry, which grewfrom one station in 1939 to 180 stations at his death. The Gospel Hour is still heard coastto coast by his taped messages. He prepared these taped messages "to continue on theGospel Hour hopefully until Christ comes back."

Dr. Greene was called Home to be with the Lord on July 26, 1976, but he "being dead,yet speaketh," not only by radio but by his writings. His books, pamphlets, tracts, totalingabove 100 titles, are still mailed out by the thousands.

Aye, DISGRACE TO GRACE, a fitting appraisal as well as a fitting epitaph for a greatman of the Gospel and the greatly used messenger of the Gospel Hour-Oliver B. Greene!Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 04:43PM (-05:00)

Sunday, March 30, 2008CAKES TO PLEASE EVERY ONE UNIONMILLS CONFECTIONERYPosted by Charles E. Whisnant at 06:38PM(-05:00)

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GOD'S GRACE AND GOODNESS IS FAR TOOMUCH FOR US TO CRY OVER EVENTS IN OURLIFE THAT ARE NOT ALWAYS PLEASANT..WHEN WE LOOK AT EVENTS FROM THEHUMAN SIDE, OFTEN THEY DO NOT MADESENSE TO OUR HUMAN, SINFUL, AND LACK OFUNDERSTANDING OF GOD'S PROVIDENCE ANDSOVEREIGNTY AND HIS GOOD PURPOSES FORHIMSELF..I may never learn the purposes of Godfor events in my life, they usually don't happen as Ihad expected. I didn't expect so great a Salvation, Ididn't expect to be married to a wonderful WIFE for

thirty nine years..In ministry I never expected the events, the success ordisappointment,to turn out as they have..If you are truly willing to be a "slave" for JesusChrist, you knowHe is LORD, and His purposes are what you desire..I believe the LORD"called" me into ministry to be His "slave" to be yielded to His purposes that He willaccomplish..If I have expectations for what I believe should happen, generally I could bedisappointed, but in the purposes of Christ they could be exactly what He has Designed..Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 08:01AM (-05:00)

Monday, March 31, 2008KANSAS HOLDS OFF DAVIDSON TO REACH FINAL FOURFive years after Roy Williams left Kansas, Jayhawks get theirshot

Kansas holds off Davidson to reach Final Four Kansas 59,Davidson 57Kansas’’ cakewalk to the River Walk turned bittersweet onSunday.

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• You were hard-pressed to find any evidence inside Ford Field that the champion ofthe Big 12 is superior to the champion of the Southern Conference. Kansas’’ biggestlead was six points, and the boys from the tiny Carolina school of 1,700 studentscontrolled the tempo, the action, from start to finish. With 16.8 seconds left, they hadpossession and the ball in the hands of the tournament’’s best player, shooting starStephen Curry


Tuesday, April 01, 2008I N T R O D U C T I O N : B I B L I C A LC O U N S E L I N G^ I was preaching/teaching years ago, and Isaid, "God doesn’t need any philosophy, orsecular psychology to accomplish Hispurposes for Believers. Scripture issufficient for every emotional, spiritual needthat Christians have." Of course thatsounded pastoral. And I truly believed thestatement was true. Any emotional stress

or depression that one would have, can be dealt with by the Word of God. Okay!That general statement came back to cause me to prove that statement. Usually apreacher will say, "Well, go read your Bible and you will be transformed, or find a remedyto all your problems in life." Or they will say, "My counsel is in my preaching and teaching,listen." We say all these things because we really don’t have a clue how to deal withpeople’s problems.Christians don’t need to go to a secular Psychologist. Well, that might be true, but if wesay that, then we need to be able to take a person to the Scripture and show them howChrist wants us to deal with life’s problems.After I preached that message, I had the occasion to have a person in our church whoasked me to counsel them biblically. Now up to that point, I had no real idea how to dothat.TRAINING: 80 and 90'sMy early seminary training never really addressed biblical counseling, but while I was inHyles-Anderson, Dr. Joe Combs taught a course on Pastoral Counseling and he used"Competent to Counsel" by Jay E. Adams.I can’t remember how I was introduced to NANC. I knew NASCAR, but not NANC.I couldn’t Google in the 80's and 90's, but doing so would have been good.I can’t remember how I was introduce to "Lifetime Guarantee" Bill Gillham. Charity wasmost impressed with the Gillham’s. They have the most simple approach to Biblical134

counseling. Their set of tapes, and books were very practical and biblical.Grace Fellowship International with Charles R. Solomon, also is good and a very simpleapproach to helping people understand their need for God’s grace. One of his books is"Counseling With The Mind of Christ." The Dynamics of Spirtuotherapy.Gary R. Collins is general editor for the series of resources for Christian Counseling.There were thirty two volumes that I studied in the Christian Counselor’s LibraryLarry Crabb’s books and material are good. He has the biblical approach to healing thedeep wounds of the soul.Then I enrolled in the Liberty University Life-Long Learning Master’s Program on BiblicalCounseling, Dr. Ronald E. Hawkins, teacher.I enrolled in the NANC , The National Association of Nouthetic Counselors. Faith BaptistChurch in Lafayette, IN . For over six months I traveled to Kansas City, KS for training.Also, I had been going to Bill Gothard’s Seminars for years and his approach tocounseling good as well. The root causes, the root symptom and the root solutions toproblems were addressed.And I had enrolled in John MacArthur’s expository Biblical preaching ministry in 1983.Charity and I went to several seminars where Jay E. Adams was speaking on the subjectof biblical counseling. Another book of Adams. "The Language of Counseling" was veryhelpful. I also appreciate the Master’s College, John MacArthur, Jr. and Wayne A. Mack’smaterial on Biblical Counseling. "Theological Foundations of Biblical Counseling and"Biblical Counseling and the Local Church." The volume "Introduction to BiblicalCounseling" is great.NEWSLETTERS, PUBLICATIONS, AND JOURNALSBefore I had Internet, I had Newsletter’s, Publications, and Journals sent to me via theUS Mail, think of that. In the 90's:

• The Biblical Counselor: from NANC• Christian Counseling Newsletter: Gary Collins• Christian Mental Health For The Professional Therapist:• Lifetime Guarantee: Bill and Anabel Gillham• The Menninger Letter: Topeka, KS• Minirth-Meier Christian Psychology For Today Publication. Paul Meier and Frank

Minirth• The Christian Journal of Psychology and Counseling AACC Gary Collins• And the Journal’s Psychology and Theology

Now what is interesting here, the above list of works of study were done in a period whileI was pastor/teacher at First Baptist Church in Altoona, Kansas from 1980-1996. I don’tthink I had heard a lot, if any, about Christian or Biblical Counseling prior to the 1980's. Inmy youth, I didn’t know what counseling was by that term. But in the 60's and 70's I spenta lot of time one on one talking to teenagers and adults about their lives as Christians.The Bible was generally my only textbook. I believe for the most part the Bible does workin giving a lot of good advice and solutions, and principles for living life free fromdepression, and a lot of worry and a lot of hurtful stress. Some depression,discouragement, worry and stress is normal for all Christians. I remember saying, "Ischedule worry for thirty minutes a week."

PART TWO:PREFACE: THE OBJECTIVE OF BIBLICAL COUNSELING: WednesdayPosted by Charles E. Whisnant at 07:44PM (-05:00)

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Wednesday, April 02, 2008COMPETENT TO COUNSEL BIBLICALLY

PART TWO:P R E F A C E : T H E O B J E C T I V E O FB I B L I C A L C O U N S E L I N G :.You can see from the assorted disciplinesof study that I have a variety of points ofview as to how to do Biblical counsel. It’s

interest ing how MacArthur, Adams,Solomon, Gillham, Mack, Crabb, Gothardand Hawkins have the same Bible andsame objectives but have different methodsof reaching the goal.. Some would say you need many sessionsto solve people problem. Some would say afew. Solomon would say, you need aboutan hour. Some would just use the Bible,others would say read this book. Somewould use all Scripture, short and sweet.. PERSONAL COMMENT:

• I was in a church for four years, and never once did the pastors want me to dopersonal counseling at the church. Even when the objective is to train Christians todo biblical counseling. Today, counseling people could bring law suits. If you as apastor, counsel, you could be held accountable for your counsel.

• SOME OBJECTIVES TO BIBLICAL COUNSELING A system of biblical truth that brings together people, their problems, and the living God.With the conviction that:

• God’s Word should be our counseling authority• Counseling is a part of the basic discipling ministry of the local church.• God’s people can and should be trained to counsel effectively.

Do I need to say: "Jesus Christ is at the center of all true Christian counseling"? Youwould think not, but in many counseling sessions, problems are addressed as if Christ isnot the answer from the Bible.

Counseling which does not move from one’s problem to the position of Scripture ceasesto be biblical counseling. Scripture is our resource book to discover the direction onecould take concerning the counseling of people with personal problems

PERSONAL NOTE:

• Having come back from the Nouthetic Counseling Seminars, I learned that in anycounseling session, the first thing is to address the problems from the biblical pointof view. I remember at one session saying, "Are you willing to look at your problems136

from Scripture?" "Are you willing to discover what your problems are as they arepresented from Scripture?" "And are you willing to apply Christ’s solution to yourproblems?" Let’s discover what your problem is biblically and see if Christ has theanswer to that issue in your life. I remember that when they said, "Yes." They reallyhad no clue what was going to be revealed about their problems and the biblicalsolutions. I know that first couple was not ready to hear what the Word said theycould do to solve their problems.

• Of course I had to learn what the real problem was. What was the root problem andthe root cause? Then learn how to address the issue, and learn how to get thosewho I was counseling to receive what I was saying..

• Personally, one-on-one counseling and preaching/teaching on Sunday Morning istotally different I believe. Certainly some preaches in preaching will address everyproblem people have, and every sin that one has. And people will tune them out.Few people listen to a whole sermon. Few people really know how to apply theprinciples of Scripture.

Most people know the secular terms for their problems but do not know the scripturalterm for their problems. Many people who have problems will not go to the Word, they willtalk to their next door neighbor before they would talk to a believer. Many will seek outsome secular person who might be able to help them. Most people know the humanisticor secular terms but not the spiritual terms.

Charles E. Whisnant

WHAT IS THE OBJECTIVE IN GIVING BIBLICAL COUNSEL Next


Thursday, April 03, 2008C O M P E T E N T T O C O U N S E LBIBLICALLYpart fourFootnote: I like UnionMills Doughnuts......WHAT IS THE OBJECTIVE IN GIVINGBIBLICAL COUNSEL

So how are we to address our problemsand issues and needs in life?The term that is used is "Noutheticconfrontation." Let’s look at the meaning ofthe term.. All Christians should engage in it. "Let theword of Christ richly dwell within you, withall wisdom teaching and (for the moment

we shall simply transliterate the next word) confronting one another nouthetically."Colossians 3:16.. Paul wrote in Romans 15:14: that all Christians must teach and confront one another ina Nouthetic fashion. "Concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that youare full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to confront one anothernouthetically.". Here is the point. Paul sees Christians meeting in nouthetic confrontation as normal 137

every day activity. If they are filled withgoodness and knowledge, they should bequalified and equipped to confront oneanother nouthetically. So in truth, you don’tneed to be a preacher to counsel. The ideais that all Christians should be involved inthis counsel.. I also realized that public preaching,confronting people with their problems is apart of the preacher’s activity, but it’s not allhe is to be engaging in. Public ministry isimportant, but so also is private ministry to individuals. While you would like to go homeon Sunday Morning and watch NASCAR, or play golf during the week, there needs to betime when you confront individuals one on one.. Note what Paul said about his ministry to the Ephesians: "Remembering that night andday for a period of three years I did not cease to confront each one nouthetically withtears.". It seemed that I was confronting individuals every day in the Word. . A part of ministry isdaily, night and day, talking to people biblically about their life. Pastoral work is more thanjust getting ready for Sunday and Wednesday sermons. It’s that of course, but more it’sbeing involved in nouthetic activity. It’s the real work of pastoral work to engage innouthetic activity. .When you read Paul’s letters, you notice that he mentions a number of individuals inwhom he invested a number of hours of work with. Paul not only preached on Mars Hill,but he dealt with people as individuals, as groups, and as families, and he confrontedthem nouthetically.. Proof read by Charity WhisnantPosted by Charles E. Whisnant at 06:39PM (-05:00)

Friday, April 04, 2008IN CHRIST ONLY DO WE HAVEHIS STRENGTH, INTIMES OF LOSS OF THOSE WE LOVE AND WHOHAVE AFFECTED OUR LIVES SO MUCH.

Stephen's (Ellen's son) teacher passed away last week.Stephen is a Senior and is enrolled to attend LiberyUniversity in Lynchburg this fall.

GOD HAS A PLAN AND PURPOSE FOR MANKIND IN TIME AND FOR ETERNITY. WESEE TIME AND GOD SEES ETERNITY. WHAT MAKES PERFECT SENSE WITHCHRIST OFTEN MAKES NO SENSE WITH MANKIND. EVENTS THAT HAPPEN IN138

OUR L IVES AS BELIEVERS AREDESIGNED BY CHRIST FOR HISPURPOSES AND ARE IN HIS PLAN FORHIMSELF.

I BELIEVE ALL OF TIME AND ETERNITYIS ABOUT THE GLORY OF JESUSCHRIST. I REALLY DO. IT'S NOT ABOUTUS. I DON'T BELIEVE JESUS CHRIST ISSERVING US, BUT IT IS THE OTHERWAY AROUND. WE ARE HIS "SLAVE",TO SERVE AT HIS PLEASURE FOR HISPURPOSE, AND HIS GLORY, IN TIMEAND IN ETERNITY. YET, IT IS NOT I, BUTCHRIST THAT LIVES WITHIN US.GALATIANS 2:20.

I BELIEVE WE LIVE AND DIE ON JESUSCHRIST'S TIME SCHEDULE.

LAST YEAR DR. JERRY FALWELL DIEDON MAY 15, 2007. HE WAS 72 YEARSOLD, AND HAD BEEN PASTOR OFTHOMAS ROAD BAPTIST CHURCH FOR

50 YEARS. IT SEEMS WITH OUR MIND, THAT HE HAD JUST BEGUN. HE SAID TOME, "CHARLES, I HAVE MUCH TO ACCOMPLISH, BUT MAYBE NOT IN MYLIFETIME." HE DIED ONE MONTH TO THE DAY LATER.

THE YOUNG FAMILY ABOVE IS "THE MARKS" FAMILY, JENNIFER JENKINS (JJ)MARKS AND SCOTT HER HUSBAND AND THEIR SON. JJ WAS A TEACHER AT MYNEPHEW STEPHEN'S SCHOOL, OVILLA CHRISTIAN SCHOOL, IN RED OAK, TEXAS.

JJ WAS 32. SHE WAS A HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER, SHE TAUGHT MATH ANDCOACHED TRACK AND CROSS COUNTRY. SHE WAS A MEMBER OF THE FIRSTBAPTIST CHURCH OF DALLAS AND SANG IN THE SANCTUARY CHOIR. SHE HAD ADEGREE IN MATHEMATICS FROM LIBERY UNIVERSITY IN LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIAIN 1997.

JJ WAS SEVEN MONTHS PREGNANT AND HAD A GOOD CHECKUP ON MONDAY.TUESDAY EVENING SHE FELT NAUSEATED, AND SHE WENT TO THE DOCTOR ONWEDNESDAY MORNING. THE BABY DIED WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND JJWENT INTO LABOR AND DIED ABOUT 6 A.M. AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL.SCOTT WAS ON A MISSION TRIP AT THE TIME.

IN OUR MINDS, GOD TOOK A YOUNG LADY IN HER PRIME WITH YET MUCH TODO. WHY? FOR WHAT EVER THE REASON, IT SEEMS JESUS CHRIST HAS GIVENEACH OF US 'TIME' TO LIVE THIS EARTHLY LIFE, AND WHEN THAT 'TIME' ISCOMPLETE, HE BY HIS PLEASURE TAKES THAT LIFE. THEREFORE, IT SEEMSEACH MOMENT OF LIFE IS IMPORTANT, FOR WE KNOW NOT, IF TODAY MAY BEOUR LAST IN TIME. TODAY LET'S FULFILL ALL THAT WE KNOW TO DO..FROM THEEMAILS I HAVE RECEIVED FROM ELLEN, JJ HAD A PROFOUND EFFECT ONSTEPHEN AND THE LIVES OF THOSE SHE WAS AROUND. IT SEEMED HER LIFE 139

WAS A REAL CHRISTIAN TESTIMONY.OUR LIFE IS NOT OUR OWN, WE WEREBOUGHT WITH A PRICE. JESUS CHRIST PAID OUR SIN DEBT AND ADOPTED USAS HIS OWN CHILDREN..IN OUR HUMAN LIFE, WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN THEEMOTIONS TO HURT AND FEEL THE LOSS OF THOSE WHOM WE LOVE. THELOSS IS GREAT, OUR SADNESS IS DEEP, AND WE WILL NEVER BE THE SAME INTHIS LIFE..I COULDN'T UNDERSTAND WHEN I WAS A CHILD WHY MY DAD WOULDSHED TEARS WHEN HE WOULD TALK ABOUT HIS DAD WHO HAD DIED. BUTAFTER MY DAD DIED WHEN I WAS 18, I UNDERSTOOD. EVEN NOW SOME 40YEARS LATER, I UNDERSTAND THE TEARS.

EVEN IN OUR GRIEF, IN OUR TEARS, IN OUR LOSS, THOSE OF US WHO HAVEBEEN BORN AGAIN, HAVE BEEN GIVEN THIS SWEET INNER PEACE OF THEKNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST, THAT EVERY THING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT IN OURFATHER'S HOUSE. ONLY THE HOLY SPIRIT WITHIN US CAN GIVE US THESTRENGTH TO MOVE ON IN LIFE UNTIL THE LORD CALLS US HOME. IT'S GRACETHAT SUPPLIES OUR NEED OF STRENGTH IN THIS TIME OF DEEP SORROW.

GOD HAS A PURPOSE AND PLAN FOR THOSE WHOM HE HAS CHOSEN FOR ALLETERNITY. FOR US NOW, WE ONLY SEE THE CLOUDED PRESENT, BUT GODSEES ETERNITY.Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 05:51AM (-05:00)

Saturday, April 05, 2008JESUS, THERE IS NO OTHER NAME, THAT CANMATCH THE NAME JESUS, OR HIS PERSON.JESUS."Yes! He is altogether lovely! This is my Beloved,this my Friend!" Song of Songs 5:16.Christ is the mostbeautiful Person, and the most fitting Object for your love.There never was, nor will be found any person so lovely,so beautiful, and so every way deserving of your love asthe Lord Jesus Christ. There is a matchless, transcendent,and incomparable beauty and excellency in Him!Howpassionately are some foolish men in love with theexternal beauty which they see in some women! They lovethe exact symmetry of parts, and lovely proportion of thebody, the amiable features and lovely mixtures of colors inthe face, the beauty of the eyes and features, theirgraceful motions, and amorous glances. How does this

ravish the hearts of some foolish men, although the most beautiful woman in the world isno better than a mixture of clay, dirt, and corruption enclosed in a lovely skin; whichsickness will cause to look pale and ashen and death will fully mar and spoil! But theamiableness and beauty of Christ is more transcendent and permanent, and therefore, amore fit object for your love. Christ is all fair without any spot; altogether lovely withoutany blemish or deformity!Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 03:39PM (-05:00)

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Sunday, April 06, 2008 WHAT A TREAT - THERE IS NONE BETTER - SENT BY MY SISTER ELLEN^


Monday, April 07, 2008GO KANSAS^Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 05:45PM (-05:00)

Monday, April 07, 2008BIBLICAL COUNSELINGWHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

PART FIVE

THIS IS A 12 PAGE REPORT, SO FAR,AND I WILL POST THRU THURSDAY. IAM GOING ON VACATION FRIDAY THRUNEXT WEDNESDAY..

SOME GENERAL REMARKS ABOUTBIBLICAL COUNSELING, ADMONISHING,INSTRUCTING, ETC.&I am going to use some notes that I used

while pastor/teacher of First Baptist Church in Altoona, Kansas for sixteen years..Biblical teaching about the needs of life is very tiring for the mind to bear up under forlong. After one hour, one hour sessions, my mind becomes tired. (is it possible for yourmind to be tired?) (I need to look up that question). There is at least a strain on my body’sphysical functions.. 141

I had preached for years, since I was sixteen, so preaching was rather natural for me. Ibelieved that in my preaching I was helping people learn about Jesus Christ and how Hewould have us to live in a secular world..My wife (Charity) first encouraged me to learn how to deal with people. Think of that. Shefelt I had a handle on theological principles but needed some help with dealing one onone with people. So I enrolled in Liberty University School of Life-Long Learning. Believeme it’s a lifelong process! The course was taught by Ron Hawkins, on "INTRODUCTIONTO COUNSELING." Class was VCR tapes..Then for David Miller’s counseling class: "PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT", and I amthinking, what has this to do with biblical admonishing or instruction? Learning personalitydevelopment is the systematic study of the person as they move through characteristicstages of growth and development. Oh! So we studied from a newborn child thruchildhood and adolescence to adults..This is a whole other topic for a later study. I want to keep on the subject. But to say theneed to understand the development of one’s personality does have a direct result onone’s behavior. You cannot ignore one’s upbringing in the process of learning what theirproblems are..SOME PRINCIPLES I LEARNED ABOUT BIBLICAL COUNSELING.Compare theperson’s experience to the Word of God. When they share a questionable experiencethat they believe to be true, evaluate it against the Word of God.

• Don’t give advice in areas you are not qualified in. i.e.• Legal• Financial investments, etc.• Medical - Do not counsel people about medications prescribed by their doctor.• Recognize the potential for medical problems to be the source of some of the

problems.Biblical counseling as we have learned, is addressing every issue in our lives with abiblical perspective.

Starting with a mindset that is focused on the teaching of the Scripture.Gather informationDefine the problem from a biblical perspectiveDiscover its root as to what the scripture would say it isFind the biblical answer.

NOW I WANT TO ADDRESS THIS IDEA OF ‘NOUTHETIC CONFRONTATION ."WHAT IS BIBLICAL COUNSELING

Discerning thinking and behavior that God wants to change.

• You want to view how you think about any issue in life with what God thinks aboutit. Your problem might be that you don’t agree with what Christ says.

Using God’s Word to Change Thinking and behavior

• You want to start with Scripture as the means of how you should think about livinglife.

For the benefit of the person and for the glory of God.

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So how do you accomplish this process?

• it’s called nouthetic counseling

I had to first learn if the person who I am talking to understands that what I do is Biblicalconsulting. I am not trying to find out what the medical problem is, nor what the secularworld would call their problems. I am not trying to give a secular solution but a biblicalsolution. I had to learn first if they were a believer, if they were willing to address theirneeds from the biblical point of view. Secondly, we had to discover if they were willing toat least learn what Scripture says about their problems.

What they were going to hear from me was what I understand the scripture is saying.

• "Let the Word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching andconfronting one another nouthetically." Col. 3:16.

• continue next


Monday, April 07, 2008KANSAS MIRACLE WIN IN OVERTIME75 TO 68..Eric, Chad, and Kyle were in Lexington KYwatching the game at Chad'sBecky was inHutchinson, Kansas watchingand Charity and Iwere watching in Porstmouth Ohio^Kansas Jayhawks Win NCAA Basketba l lChampionsh ip .In a dramatic overtime thriller, Kansas (37-3)defeated Memphis (38-2), 75-68 to capture theDivision I Men's Basketball National Championshipon Monday night. Junior Mario Chalmers hit theclutch three-point shot to push the game toovertime, where the Jayhawks never looked back.This marks the fifth national title for the Kansas

men's basketball program. .Twenty years after "Danny & The Miracles" won it all at KU,Mario's miracle shot Monday night capped off a comeback forthe ages and led the Jayhawks to another national title, asKansas beat Memphis 75-68 in OT.


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Tuesday, April 08, 2008NOW I WANT TO ADDRESS THIS IDEA OF‘NOUTHETIC CONFRONTATION ."WHAT IS BIBLICAL COUNSELING^Discerning thinking and behavior that God wants tochange.You want to view how you think about any issue in lifewith what God thinks about it. Your problem might bethat you don’t agree with what Christ says.Using God’s Word to Change Thinking and behaviorYou want to start with Scripture as the means of howyou should think about living life.For the benefit of the person and for the glory of God.So how do you accomplish this process? it’s callednouthetic counseling.

Let the Word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and confrontingone another nouthetically." Col. 3:16..Paul engaged in teaching the scripture night and day. He didn’t just teach on Sunday,then the rest of the week train to be a Gladiator. He engaged in the process of pastoralwork that is necessary to build up individuals in their faith. He engaged individuals one onone on a daily basis. If you read Paul’s letters, you will see they are filled with people. Ineed to check out how many people are mentioned in his letters that he was personallyinvolved with teaching. . He preached, but Paul dealt with people as individuals, asgroups, and as families, and he confronted them nouthetically. .ELEMENTS IN NOUTHETIC confrontation. Usually there is going to be a clash or anargument of points of views. In my experience, those who I am talking to, generally donot agree with a scriptural point of view.

• Okay, what do the terms mean to "admonish," "warn," and "teach."A. T. Robertson, of Colossians 1:28, rendered it "put sense into."

So what does nouthetic confrontation consist of? There are at least three basic elementsaccording to Jay Adams.

1 "to teach" The term "didasko" does not imply any problem, but simply suggests thecommunication of data (teaching); making information known, clear, understandable andmemorable.

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What I learned early, "to teach" is something that refers to the one who is teaching. Theperson who you are teaching, may not be at all happy about what you are teaching. Theymay not even agree with what you are teaching. They generally are not all that excitedabout hearing your instruction, or teaching on the subject at hand. My experience is thatmost don’t want to hear biblical teaching, but would rather hear what the other points ofview are.

Adams points out: "nouthesis" specifically presupposes the need for a change in theperson confronted, who may nor may not put up some resistance." But in either casethere is a problem in their life that needs to be solved. Some sin, some obstruction, someproblem, some difficulty, some need that has to be acknowledged and dealt with. Whatyou are trying to say, is "God wants change." You don’t change by taking a pill. Thereneeds to be an inward personality change, a behavioral change.

2 "to admonish". Here is the idea: the sense of admonishing with blame, and to rebuke.That is never well liked. The idea of "nouthesis" gives the idea, there is going to be somekind of confrontation in which the objective is to effect a character and behavior change inthe person you are talking to one on one.

Here is what Adams said,

• "Nouthetic confrontation, that is one on one, in its bibical usage, aims atstraightening out the individual by changing his pattern of behavior to conform tobiblical standard."For example, Nathan’s confronting David after his sin with Uriah and Bathsheba.And also, Christ’s restoring Peter after His resurrection.

The idea is to confront with the truth of scripture. Nouthetically, means you speak soonenough, strictly enough, and seriously enough to really effect genuine changes in them.

Counseling in the first place implies someone has a hindrance, difficulty, dilemma,problem, etc. and you presuppose a blockade that must be overcome..

And what generally happens, you don’t want to confront, challenge, or deal with what youreally know to be the real problem. That is not the meaning of nouthetical biblical counsel.

"Why did you do that, or why are you doing this?" This is not nouthetical counselingeither. One young man when asked why he kept doing what he was doing. He said, "It’sin my blood line." Too much on the "why" will lead to finding some extenuating reasonsfor excusing conduct which other wise would be described as sinful. Nouthetical biblicalcounseling is not finding excuses for their bad behavior. It is the task to stop them.

The idea is to discuss the WHAT, NOT THE WHY.

^

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Thursday, April 10, 2008BIBLICAL COUNSELING: HOW DO YOUDO IT?

Review:

There are at least three basic elementsaccording to Jay Adams.

1 "to teach" The term "didasko" does not imply any problem, but simply suggests thecommunication of data (teaching); making information known, clear, understandable andmemorable.

2 "to admonish". Here is the idea: the sense of admonishing with blame, and to rebuke.That is never well liked. The idea of "nouthesis" gives the idea, there is going to be somekind of confrontation in which the objective is to effect a character and behavior change inthe person you are talking to one on one

• Here is what Adams said,"Nouthetic confrontation, that is one on one, in its biblical usage, aims atstraightening out the individual by changing his pattern of behavior to conform tobiblical standard."

When I was a Juvenile Probation Officer, when talking with a kid that had just robbed hismother of $100, I didn’t say, "Son, why did you do that?" I knew why. I wanted to dealwith the "What" What was done? What must be done to rectify it? "Young man, what youdid, was really bad." What are you going to do about it?"

So I wanted to deal with the "what" rather than the "why." You know the why? The reasonpeople get in trouble or have trouble, even if they don’t know that they are in trouble withGod, is their relationship with God and others because of their sinful nature..

Christians do not have to ask the question "why". They already know why fallen humannature acts sinfully. Many do not see the "what" as sinful behavior. It’s a chemicalimbalance or "I don’t see why it’s a problem."

By the way, nouthetic counseling doesn’t take weeks to solve, unlike what mostpsychiatrists are saying is needed -- months and maybe years

"What" leads to solutions to problems'

"What are you doing?" That is a very good question to ask, rather than "Why did you dothat?"

Now you might think: Isn’t that what a Christian should do? Yes, but it’s often the lastthing we do. We will use the secular points of view. We will say, "I am depressed." "I havea chemical imbalance." "I am bi-polar." etc. Most of the time we will know the secular146

term and not the biblical term of our problems. All these terms are secular and are notbiblical terms..Can I ask, "What does God say about what you are doing?" And secondly, what can bedone about this situation? Many times they don’t like these questions..HERE IS THE POINT OF NOUTHETIC BIBLICAL COUNSELING CONFRONTING:

Biblical counseling seeks to correct sinful behavior patterns by personal confrontationand repentance. "The what you are in to, or what you are doing, by biblical standard isnot what Christ would have you to do." And what are you going to do about it?.Until they see and understand the "why" they won’t clearly see why the "what" is wrong.And they want see why the need to change is needed. The "why" of every problem is sin.When we understand the sin problem we will have and idea that the "what" is wrong. .So the point is to try to bring about change of direction in the thinking and behavior thatwould be beneficial to the person and be glorifying to Christ rather than what is mostconvenient for the person.

.Adams says this:

• "Any biblically legitimate verbal means may be employed that will bring aboutchange in the direction of greater conformity to biblical principles and practice."


Friday, April 11, 2008VACATION TIME

\• Charity and I will take a few days to travel to Lexington KY to visit our boys. Spent

the night with Eric and Leslie. On Friday we traveled 434 miles to Southaven Mi s s is s i p p i. to visit with Susan Lugar. On Satursday we will end up in Midlothian Tx.My sister Ellen and husband and Stephen live there. And my mother who will be 86on the 15th lives there too. So we are glad to get a change to visit family and friendsthis weekend weekend and a few days next week. Our trip is just under 2000 milesround trip.

• I was pleasantly surprise by my children on Friday, they had bought me a Scanner.Those pictures on the blog were pictures made from the orginials by my digital, sothey thought it would be nice to be able to scan the orginial pictures. Now I reallycan have enjoyment doing it right: as soon as I learn how to use the Scanner.GROW BY LEARNING as I say.

DENNIS AND SUSAN LUGAR have a wonderful God blessed ministry here inSouthaven. I will give more deal about the ministry as soon as I can. I have taken somewonderful pictures of their new building, and as soon as I can get them on the computer Iwill post them. We are spending the night with the Lugar's and they are just minutes fromthe Memphis, Tenn. Memphis, oh the team that KANSAS Jayhawks won to take the 2008Basketball Championship. Both teams were great this year. No team had won moregames than Memphis this year. I learned today from their son Jonathan that FED X mailhub for over night for all the USA comes through Memphis. They have over 240 jets that 147

come in and out of Memphis at night.Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 08:11PM (-05:00)

Monday, April 14, 2008VACATION TIME

^

We are in Midlothian Texas, Herschel andEllen Samples home. My mother lives withthem, and Stephen who is a senior and willbe going this fall to Liberty U. . We had agreat day on Sunday. I went to church withStephen and then after church made a fewstops on the way home to check for good"Hot Wheels". While the girls shops, Becky,Charity and April, I watched the Masterswith Mom, and Bry and Herschel puttogether a outside swing for Mom. AndEllen was at a meeting. And Stephenwatched the boys for April and Bry. . Thegirls returned, and April is the photo girl, soshe took some great photo shots of Charityand I and Becky and Mom. We then had agreat late supper, just before Mom wasabout to die of hunger. She wanted to seeher 86 birthday on Tuesday. The meal was

great, the ice cream was good as well.

.


Tuesday, April 15, 2008VACATION CONTINUESApril 15th, 2007 I know most know this day as IRS day, but today is my Mom's PaulineWhisnant's 86th birthday. She is really doing very well. Charity and I are visiting her for afew days. We are taking a lot of pictures and when I get back to Portsmouth, I am goingto post some pictures of our visit with Mom and the family.

On this date last year in 2007 Charity and I anda Ellen and Stephen and Mom were inLynchburg, Virginia visiting with Jerry and Macel Falwell. Jerry passed away one monthlater on May 15th, 2007. Ellen has talked to Macel several times. Macel sent me some

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pictures she had of Dad and Mom and me,and a picture of her when she was ateenager in Dad's church in Lynchburg.

As I have said, Stephen will be going toLiberty U this fall. Thanks to Jerry andMacel Falwell. And thanks also for my Dadand Mom who have been a friend to theFalwell's for all these years.

We enjoyed our daughter with us for a few days, here in Midlothian, Texas, and shedrove back yesterday evening to Kansas.

We enjoyed time with Bryan and April Williams, Ellen's daughter, and their three kids. Irealized at 60 I am out of shape playing with pre school kids. But not out of shapedrinking a large Braum's milk shake, a tradition I have with Brian.

Brian and I were talking about PRAYER: Some people will pray what to do, while sittingwhen they should be doing, waiting for an answer. Others are doing and praying whilethey are doing, and helping when they know it's what the answer would be from the Lordif they prayed about it.

Some will say, "I will pray about it," others will say, "Yes I will go and help," Sometimespraying for an answer, gets in the way of doing what the Lord has already told us to beready to do at a moment's notice. Sometimes the Lord has already given the answer toour question in prayer, we just need to do it. Usually I do not hear a voice from God,generally the Lord has already addressed the issues of life in the Word. I need to read asmuch as I need to pray. I need to obey as much as I would pray. I need to do as much asI need to pray.

I would say if we spend time in the Word, and listening to the Gospel, and teaching of theWord, we would have a good idea as to how we should live in obedience of the Lord. Wewould do more doing and serving than wondering what the Lord would have us to do.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM. I LOVE YOU Charles and CharityPosted by Charles E. Whisnant at 08:49AM (-05:00)

Tuesday, April 15, 2008Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 10:45AM(-05:00)

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Friday, April 18, 2008COMPETENT TO COUNSEL BIBLICALLYREVIEW:

SOME OBJECTIVES TO BIBLICALCOUNSELING

• A system of biblical truth that brings together people, their problems, and the livingGod. With the conviction that:

• God’s Word should be our counseling authority• Counseling is a part of the basic discipling ministry of the local church.• God’s people can and should be trained to counsel effectively.

The term that is used is "Nouthetic confrontation." Let’s look at the meaning of the term.All Christians should engage in it. "Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all150

wisdom teaching and (for the moment we shall simply transliterate the next word)confronting one another nouthetically." Colossians 3:16. .There are at least three basic elements according to Jay Adams.

• 1 "to teach" The term "didasko" does not imply any problem, but simply suggeststhe communication of data (teaching); making information known, clear,understandable and memorable.

• "to admonish". Here is the idea: the sense of admonishing with blame, and torebuke. That is never well liked. The idea of "nouthesis" gives the idea, there isgoing to be some kind of confrontation in which the objective is to effect a characterand behavior change in the person you are talking to one on one.

Today:THIRD POINT: 3 "for correction." I Corinthians 4:14. Paul wanted to confront but withcare, because you are my beloved children.. He wanted to correct with the intent tobenefit the person.Paul would get his point across without screaming at them. He didn’t want to"exasperate" them. He would confront them as a "brother". II Thessalonians 3:15.

The third point of nouthetic counseling suggests changing that in his life which hurts thecounselee. The idea is not to punish them but to help them. How often have I seen howthe "what" they were doing in their life was only hurting them. Their behavior was hurtingthem, their thinking was hurting them. Their life was a mess. When they came forcounseling, they were in trouble.

Generally I would counsel those in our church family, those who were our dear friends. Icared for each member of our church family. I was deeply concerned for their well being.Nouthesis is motivated by love and deep concern, in which you are willing to give advice,admonish, warn, do what you could to bring about change of behavior and change ofmind. I often had strange ways of doing this very idea.

As Paul said in Colossians 1:28, in order that every man may be presented to Christmature and complete. And the best way that can be done is to apply the principles ofScripture.

Scripture in II Timothy is used nouthetically. Reproving, teaching, correcting, and trainingmen in righteousness. I believe scripture can instruct us in the manner that Christ wouldhave us to think, behave, and believe about how to live life.

We get into the "what’s" of life because we are not personally confronted with theScriptures.We get into bad behavior and bad thinking when we are not confronted with Scripture.We get into the "why" when we don’t have a clear understanding of Scripture.

2 Timothy 4:21 "Preach the Word." I heard that a lot. "be ready in season and out ofseason," in the pulpit, in the foyer, in the class room, in the home, at the ball park, justabout anywhere "reprove, rebuke, exhort", but note "with great patience and instruction."(I did have a little trouble with patience, and tactful instruction.).

I believe it’s a balance. Some preachers push people to guilt for wrong living andbehavior with Scriptural teaching. Others will preach or teach scripture without anyconfronting.

There is a difference between how preachers and preachers versus how John MacArthur 151

preaches.

Paul thought of bringing God’s word to press upon people’s lives in order to uncoversinful patterns, to remedy what is wrong, and to set new ways of life of which Godapproves.

John MacArthur said, I preach with the authority of Scripture, I want to push people backup against the wall as it were, and confront them with the principles of Scripture and thewill of God, and force then to face life in the light of Scripture. Getting them to understandthe "what" they are doing, is either right or wrong biblically, and help them know the "why"they are giving is not biblical, nor for their best interest, or for the glory of God. ( a veryloose paraphrase of what John was saying)^Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 06:30AM (-05:00)

Saturday, April 19, 2008VACATION TIME IN 2008^Charity and Ihad one of the better vacat ions inKentucky, Mississippi and Texas thisyear.Bob Temple, Charity's dad is on amissionary trip, and he said we could usehis car, and our gas expenses wasprovided, and we were set.I will be postingsome of the pictures from our vacation overthe next few days.If you would like to visitmy sister's blog which is about Mom andlearn about our vacation in Texas, I believeyou would enjoy the articles thatEllen haswritten.click and view.^Stay turn .Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 07:09AM(-05:00)

Sunday, April 20, 2008WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO GIVE PLACETO THE BIBLE IN THE FOUNDATIONALROLE IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE?

W H A T R O L E O F T H E O L O G Y I NFOSTERING THE CENTRALITY OFSCRIPTURE AMONG THOSE WHOCLAIM ALLEGIANCE TO THE GOD OFTHE BIBLE?^When I think of preachingand Biblical preaching, and theological

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teaching of the Word, I think of John MacArthur, Jr. Period. There are a few goodpreachers and teachers and some are not known as John MacArthur. . You might like theemotions of a John Piper, the style of a Charles Stanley, or David Jeremiah, or evenChuck Swindoll, and I do like them all; but for the pure preaching, teaching of the Word ofGod, John MacArthur is the best bar none. He may not have the style that will mesmerizeyou with human emotions, but the teaching of the Word will. . AS I HAVE SAID FORTHIRTY YEARS, IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT I BELIEVE AND PREACH ANDTEACH THEOLOGICALLY, WITH OUT SHAME, IT'S JOHN MACARTHUR. . Of course Istudy the Bible for myself, I research the scripture fully as I am able with my little mind. Ihave always challenged the teaching of John's from the start. I have always viewed thedifferent points of theological positions. I have never been one who just will study mybelief, but I will and have read both sides of a theological issue. But at the end of the day,it's clear to me that what I believe is okay. To be sure, no preacher or teacher ortheologican is 100 per cent correct in all matters of the Scriptures. . SECONDLY: . Therehas been no church ministry that I have found better than Grace Community Church,where John is the Senior Pastor for thirty years. If you want to know what I believe andhave tried to practice as pastor/teacher you would only have to note the manual ofChurch ministry of Grace Community Church. . FOOTNOTE: . It's not only good to be agood preacher and teacher but also a good Shepherd. From what I have heard and read,John MacArthur has been a good Shepherd to his flock and staff of elders and ministersat Grace Community Church. Now I have also tried to be a good Shepherd to the sheepthat the Lord allowed me to minister to. Those whom the Lord allowed Charity and I tominister to over these forty years we still love. Our greatest sadness was to leave thechurch where we were ministering. We have been blessed to have been able to keep upwith a lot of those folks that we dearly love. *Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 07:27AM (-05:00)

Monday, April 21, 2008WISE COUNSEL FROM THE MASTER:CLICK THAT BUTTON CHARITYÎ WASASKED TO DEFINE GRACE AND SIN:And I look at terms in the theological,scriptural point of view: .GRACE

Grace is a term that has a variety ofconnotations and nuances. For the purposeof this article its meaning is that of

undeserved blessing freely bestowed on man by God. .I was given grace to preach the unfathomable riches of Christ. And, of course, the richesof Christ are connected to the work of Christ and the work of Christ is a cross work bywhich saving grace is granted to penitent believing sinners. And so doing, Paul says inEphesians 3 verse 9, God used me to bring to light what is the administration, or thestewardship of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created allthings, in order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through thechurch to the rulers and authorities in the heavenlies. That is an amazing statement.. God showed grace to me in order that I might preach the gospel of grace, in order thatthe manifold wisdom of God exhibited in grace might be made known through the churchwhich is the product of that saving grace to the rulers and authorities in the heavenlyplaces...angels...angels. God allowed sin from the very beginning, planned it in withoutbeing responsible for it, so that He could display His grace to the holy angels who would 153

otherwise not be able to worship Him fully for who He is, not having any demonstration ofthe massive significance of grace with all its components, were it not put on display. Godthen enacts a gracious salvation so that angels can give Him full glory and full expressionof worship consistent with all His attributes. . SIN Footnote:.

• Sin is not only an act of doing wrong but a state of falling out from God. Sin is muchmore than the violation of a forbidden or the transgression of an extenral ordiance.

• Sin in the mind is a fruit of the same moral defect that produces deeds of sin. When Jesus said hatred carries the same kind of guilt as murder, and lust is the veryessence of adultery, He was not suggesting that there is no difference in degree betweensin that takes place in the mind and sin that is acted out. Scripture does not teach that allsins are of equal enormity.. That some sins are worse than others is both patently obvious and thoroughly biblical.Scripture plainly teaches this, for example, when it tells us the sin of Judas was greaterthan the sin of Pilate (John 19:11).. But in His Sermon on the Mount Jesus was pointing out that anger arises from the samemoral defect as murder; and the one who lusts suffers from the same character flaw asthe adulterer. . Furthermore, those who engage in thought-sins are guilty of violating thesame moral precepts as those who commit acts of murder and adultery.. In other words, secret sins of the heart are morally tantamount to the worst kind of evildeeds—even if they are sins of a lesser degree. The lustful person has no right to feelmorally superior to a wanton fornicator. The fact that she indulges in lust is proof she iscapable of immoral acts as well. The fact that he hates his brother shows that he hasmurder lurking in his heart.. Christ was teaching us to view our own secret sins with the same moral revulsion wefeel for wanton acts of public sin.. Believers need to be aware that secret sins can have the same effects as public sins.. Whereas in unbelievers, they have sin that only grace can change: And sin in their heartwill and can lead to action of sinful acts.

This morning we read where a young man was accused of plotting to bomb his school. Inhis mind there is anger, hatred and then there is lurking in his heart murder, the killing ofstudents in his school. ^18-year-old S.C. student accused of plotting to bomb schoolMay 20, 2008.COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Students arriving Monday at a small South Carolina highschool face newly installed metal detectors and extra police after a student was arrestedin what authorities said was a plan to carry out a Columbine-inspired attack.. Bomb-sniffing dogs have already checked the hallways and classrooms at ChesterfieldHigh School, authorities said. Metal detectors were borrowed from a courthouse.. The alleged plotter, Ryan Schallenberger, 18, was arrested Saturday. His parents calledpolice after 10 pounds of ammonium nitrate were delivered to their home in Chesterfieldand they discovered a disturbing journal.. "He seemed to hate the world. He hated people different from him — the rich boys withgood-looking girlfriends," said the town's police chief, Randall Lear.Schallenberger was one of the top students at the high school of about 580 students andhad not caused any serious problems before his arrest, principal Scott Radkin said..THEREFORE

• SIN is the principle that corrupts the mindset of mankind, GRACE is the principlethat will produce saving grace..154


Tuesday, April 22, 2008BARACK OBAMA THE ANTI-CHRIST ! !Îf I get one more e-mail or hear another onethat says Obama is the Anti-Christ, I am goingto write a blog..Oh please! How little we know about theScriptures. All the following information iscreepy to say the least, but Obama is aDemocrat, not the Anti-Christ. Obama may befrom Hawaii, but not the Anti-Christ. Obamamay be a Muslim, but not the Anti-Christ.Obama may have attended a Catholic school,but he is not the Anti-Christ. Obama may notwant to wear the USA pin. That’s okay. I don’t

wear a lapel pin either, but he is not the Anti-Christ. He may be black, but he is not theAnti-Christ. His dad may be from Kenya and his mother from Wichita, Kansas, but he isnot the Anti-Christ. Obama may be Muslim, but he is not the Anti-Christ. Obama’s middlename may be Hussein, but he is not the Anti-Christ. Obama may say he is a Christianand reads the Koran, but he is NOT the Anti-Christ. Obama may have enrolled in aWahabi school in Jakarta, but that doesn’t make him the Anti-Christ. Where do peopleget this idea he is or could be the Anti-Christ?.Of course, I would be glad IF HE WERE the Anti-Christ. That would mean that the returnof Christ is just around the corner!.The wife of a Baptist preacher can say he is, but really she knows little about the Bible..All the above ideas about Obama don’t make him a good candidate for the Anti-Christ(and perhaps not a good candidate for President of the United States either). Sorry, butthat is not the description of the Anti-Christ..I do believe that God is sovereign over all the actions of this nation. I don’t think God is aDemocratic candidates or Republican. I think God is going for Ralph Nader. . TENREASONS I THINK THERE IS NO ANTI CHRIST LIVING TODAYTEN REASONS WHYBARACK OBAMA IS NOT THE ANTI-CHRIST.1 Those in the Reformed Camp do not believe there will be an Anti-Christ, so thereforeObama couldn’t be the Anti Christ..2 In saying you thank Obama could be the Anti-Christ you are saying that there is goingto be a Anti-Christ and there is going to be a Tribulation..3 An intellectual geniusDaniel 7:8 describes him as having "eyes like the eyes of a man" (cf., v. 20). The eye isoften a symbol of intelligence..4 . An outstanding oratorDaniel 7:8 says the Antichrist will have "a mouth speaking great things" (cf., v. 20).Effective leadership is predicated on the ability to communicate. 155

.5 . A master politicianRevelation 6:2 says he will conquer the world having a bow without any arrows. Thatmeans he'll conquer peacefully through politics. The world will be looking for someone tobring peace and economic stability. Daniel 11:21 says, "In his estate shall stand up a vileperson [the Antichrist], to whom they shall not give the honor of the kingdom; but he shallcome in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.".6 . A commercial wizardDaniel 8:25 says, "Through his policy ... he shall cause deceit to prosper in his hand; andhe shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many; he shall stand upagainst the Prince of princes, but he shall be broken without hand." He will be a wizard atbuilding a world system of economics that feeds his own pocket (cf., Rev. 18)..7 . A military geniusAccording to Daniel 7:23 he "shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, andbreak it in pieces." He will be a military leader without equal. He's going to be everythingthat Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander the Great, the Caesars, and Napoleon Bonaparte werein terms of military ability combined in one individual. Revelation 13:4, 7 says, "Theyworshiped the beast [the Antichrist], saying, Who is like the beast? Who is able to makewar with him?... It was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcomethem; and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations." TheAntichrist will conquer the world..8 . A religious leaderSecond Thessalonians 2:3-4 identifies him as the "man of sin ... the son of perdition, whoopposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, so thathe, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." He willcommand the whole world to worship him..9 I believe the Antichrist will come out of a revived Roman empire becauseDaniel 9:26 says, "The people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and thesanctuary." The people who destroyed Jerusalem were the Romans in A.D. 70 Thatimplies the Antichrist will be a Gentile from Europe.10 The Antichrist will offer himself as the protector of Israel. He’s not labeled theAntichrist, he’Os a man of peace, a leader, a great world leader of peace. They’re verypossibly out of the Roman Catholic system. He comes in, sets up some kind of pact withthem, becomes their protector.

Ôh he is not Henry Kissenger :-)Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 06:21AM (-05:00)

Tuesday, April 22, 2008BECKY, CHARITY, STEPHEN, ANDAPRIL 2008


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Wednesday, April 23, 2008UBIQUITOUS

• ubiquitous \yoo-BIK-wih-tuhs\, adjective:• Existing or being everywhere, or in all places, at the same time.

Now you might say I thought the word was Omnipresent. Well, yes, God is ever presentevery where, at all times. But at the same time we might say that SIN is ever present inevery one, at all times, and in every place in the world, all at the same time. And we couldsay, that GRACE is ever present, in every place in the world.


Thursday, April 24, 2008A PORTRAIT OF THE ANTI CHRISTAIt’s not necessarily imperative to know who thisperson is. The point is not to try to figure out ifsomeone living today is this person. The spirit ofantichrist has been and will continue to be in theworld until Christ returns. The point is to live theChristian life in view of our loving Savior and Lord,the Lord Jesus Christ. We are looking upward tothe coming of Jesus Christ.

• But with that said, I love theology, and I love the Word of God. And if the Word ofGod speaks on a subject I love to study the subject.

• This brief post is that only, brief in nature. Volumes of material have being written onthis subject.,There are a number different points of view about the End Times ofHistory.

• My personal position on the interpretation of Scripture comes from a progressiverevelation of the Bible.

A brief understanding of the Progressive Revelation Position: will come in the next post.

• God did not reveal all truth at one time, but through out history. The truth that Adamhad was not as fully as Moses, etc.

It is legitimate to have an investigation in this matter of the term of Antichrist. First weneed to understand what the term means. Where do we find the term Antichrist in theBible? I have heard all my life of 60 years this idea of the Antichrist. I have preached andtaught for over 40 of those sixty years. Let us take a look at what the Scriptures teachabout this Anti Christ.First the word is found only in John’s Epistles of the many anti-christs who areforerunners of the Antichrist himself 1 John 2:18, 22 and 2 John 7 of the evil power whichalready operates anticipatively of the Antichrist: 1 John 4:3 The term anti-christ, one who

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is against Christ or instead of Christ. or maybe, combining the two. "one who, assumingthe guise of Christ" (Westcott).The understanding of the term is of an arch opponent of God and the Messiah. The termmeans against rather then instead of. The idea is that Anti christ opposes Christ.

OLD TESTAMENT DEVELOPMENT OF THE ANTI CHRIST:

In the O.T. there is really no complete portrait of Anti Christ but it does furnish us withmaterials for the picture in descriptions of personal or national opposition to God.

BELIA. The term "sons of or men of Belial" used to describe those for their wickedness.Example: those of evil speech Proverbs 6:12. Those who the good shun in Psalms 101:3

FOREIGN ENEMIES: Opposition to God’s kingdom is opposition to him. The nations’vain plot against the Lord’s anointed king in Psa. 2. There is the idea in the O.T. of thosewho are for ever trying to frustrate the plan of God throughout the O.T.

THE LITTLE HORN. This rebellion is symbolized in Daniel’s little horn. Chapter 7 themore eschatological, seems to depict the defeat of God’s final enemy, while chapter 8describes Antiochus !V Epiphanes (175-163 B.C.) the foreign ruler most hated by theJews because of his personal wickedness and ruthless persecution of their religion.

The portrait of this "king of the north" Daniel 11, the personification of evil, has helpedsignificantly to shape the N.T. figure of Antichrist:

• He abolished the continual burnt offering and erected the abomination of desolationin the temple: Daniel 11:31, Matt 4:15, Mark 13:14 and Rev 13:14-15.

• He exalted himself to the position of deity: Daniel 11:36-39; 2 Thess 2:3-4,• His helpless death points to Christ slaying of the "lawless one": Daniel 11:45, 2

Thess 2:8 and Rev 19:20

The beast from the sea in Rev 13:1 recalls Daniel’s 7:3,7 and strengthens the linkbetween Daniel’s prophecy and the N.T. account of Antichrist.

THE NEW TESTAMENT DEVELOPMENT OF THE ANTI CHRIST.

THE GOSPELS: References to Christ’s opponent are neither numerous nor specific. Thedisciples are warned that false Christs will attempt to deceive even the elect. Matthew24:24, Mark 13:22. Christ Himself speaks of one who is to come in his own name, whomthe Jews receive John 5:43. This could be a veiled reference to Antichrist or to any falseMessiahs who present themselves to Judaism.

A Single evil personality may be in view, but his portrait is not even sketched...SECOND THESSALONIANS:

Paul does give a clearer picture of Christ’s archenemy, whose outstanding characteristicis contempt of law. This person is described by two names. "man of lawlessness" (0r manof sin) and "the lawless one." 2 Thess 2:3 and 8-9. Here it seems to stress thisanarchistic attitude, as in Daniel 7:25, where the little horn tries to change the times andlaw. Note also the Antichrist makes the exclusive claim to deity 2 Thess 2:4, in termsindicative of Daniel 7:25 11:36.158

This Antichrist deceives many by wonders: 2 Thess 2:9-10. He will work miracles bysatanic power, and many will worship him as God.One of Antichrist’s names: "son of perdition" 2 Thess 2:3 cf John 17:12, reveals hisdestiny: Christ will slay him by his breath and the brightness of his appearing: 2 Thess2:8, Rev. 19:15, 20, cf. Isa. 11:4.

John’s letters gives attention to many antichrists.

Now John’s account complements rather than contradicts Paul’s teaching. FollowingDaniel, Paul characterizes a single archenemy, who claims the right to personal worship.John stresses the spiritual lie which made Antichrist seemingly strong..THEN YOU HAVE THE BOOK OF REVELATION:

The Apocalyptist’s beast of Revelation 13 is in view of Daniel, and combines thecharacteristics of all four O.T. beasts. If you will note the beast of Revelation 13 has anauthority belonging only to the little horn of Daniel’s beast. How I remember teachingDaniel twice at FBC in Altoona, Kansas. There is much more detail here about the beastof Revelation 13, that would take a lot of time. There seems to be implied this antichristembodied in the kingdom. He seems to be more than a person, which he is, but part ofseven heads that are seven kings. Rev. 17:10-12. Whereas the beast himself is theeighth king. As I have taught Revelation in every church I have pastored. (or started to)Madison, FBC and even Second Baptist.. So you take Daniel’s beast, Paul’s beast, and John’s beast in Revelation, you have apicture that suggests a wordly power, an anti-God spirit of nationalsitic ambition.It’s not necessarily imperative to know who this person is. The point is not to learn who heis.

• The point is not to try to figure out if someone living today is this person. You mightthink a number of people throughout history have the description of an antichristspirit who opposes God’s laws and wants to rule the world by himself.


Thursday, April 24, 2008VACATION TIME WITH MY MOM 2008.Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 08:52AM(-05:00)

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Friday, April 25, 2008PROGRESSIVE REVELATION WITHINE S C H A T O L O G Y , D I S P E N S A T I O NT H E O L O G Y P a r t O n e.(How do you like those words:)

• It is an effortless matter for 21th Century preachers to chasten the First CenturyJews for failing as a nation to recognize and embrace their Messiah. After all, OTMessianic prophecies abound, and with the benefit of centuries of hindsight weaffirm that those prophecies point clearly and unarguably to Jesus Christ. We arealtogether properly humbled, however, when we struggle with those prophecies stillunfulfilled at the end of the Apostolic Age which speak of events in our time. It is notso easy to make quick applications from Daniel 7-11 or from Revelation.

You should ask, "How do you know Scripture is saying what you say they are saying?""Are .you just guessing?" "What makes what you say different from what someone else issaying about the meaning of Scripture?"Generally, I would conjecture, most people who listen to their teacher, preacher, writer,usually don’t really ask those questions, but generally will agree and disagree basedupon their own frame of references. .You ask them, "Why do you believe that?" "I believe it because I believe it." That is tosay, I don’t really have a clue why, but it’s what I have always been taught. .There are volumes of material on the interpretation of the Bible. Certainly I have studiedthe systems which teach us how to study the Bible -- Bible study methods, there are somany of them.

Having studied the Bible verse by verse for over forty years, I am still learning . The truthof the Bible always stays the same. Truth never changes, our understanding of the truthin the Word changes as we GROW BY LEARNING.

HOW DO I VIEW THE BIBLE AS A WHOLE.PROGRESSIVE REVELATION: The unfolding of God's revelation. Sometimes known asPROGRESSIVE DISPENSATIONALISM

The concept of progressive revelation is closely related to the historical nature ofScripture. It can be very simply defined as God’s revealing of His will in successivestages, each founded upon and further illuminating the previous stages. God did notreveal all truth at one time, but through various periods and stages of revelation.

Paul said to his audience on Mars Hills, that in a former time God overlooked theirignorance, but now commands all men everywhere to repent. Acts 17:30. In Hebrews 1:1-2

• "God who at various times and in divers manners spake in times past unto thefathers by the prophets, having in these last days, spoken unto us by His Son,whom He appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds."160

• John 1:17 "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by JesusChrist. "

The concept of progressive revelation does not negate the unity of the Bible butrecognizes the diversity of God’s unfolding revelation as essential to the unity of Hiscomplete revelation.

Dispensational theology grows out of a consistent use of the hermeneutical (study of)principle of normal, plain, and literal interpretation, when applied.

Since we are talking about Eschatology (Study of future events) we will speak to thatissue.

• As a footnote:God's redemptive acts were progressive, preparing the way for Christ who shouldcome in the fullness of time (Gal 4:4) the accompanying truths that wereprogressively revealed show in most cases a progressive development. That is.,God graciously unfolded both His redemption and His revelation in wayscorresponding to man’s capacities to receive them.

What God revealed to Adam was not as much as he did to Abraham, and then Mosesreceived more revelation than Abraham.

Footnote:

• The word "economy" can be traced back to the Greek word, "one who manages ahousehold", which was derived, which had not only the sense "management of ahousehold or family" but also senses such as "thrift", "direction", "administration","arrangement", and "public revenue of a state". In God’s economy. God rules

The term dispensationalism simply means "to manage, regulate, administer andplan the affairs of a household."

Human stewardship is illustrated in Luke 16:1-2Divine stewardship, i.e. an administration or plan, being accomplished by God in thisworld.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Friday, April 25, 2008BECKY - NOW THERE IS A OUR GIRLBorn in Texas , Lived in Ohio, Kentucky, butaKansas Girl^Posted by Charles E. Whisnant at 08:00PM (-05:00)

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TO WHOM IS THE CHRISTIAN BLOGGER'ACCOUNTABLE"?tHSI IS THE GOODQUESTION sORRY ABOUT THAT?

Sorry about that! Webding! That was a newfont!

Some might be saying, "Charles who holdsyou accountable for what you write?" Or I might say, "Am I accountable to anyone?" Onlythree people come to mind that would give me thought when I am blogging or e mailingthat would give me concern, generally. My wife, Charity, and John MacArthur, Jr. and theLord. Of course, my kids would have some influence.

When I blog about our personal life, personal history in ministry, it's my view, how Ipersonally saw the events, which was the orginial intent of this blog to begin with. I wrotewith an honest pen as to how I viewed the ministry over the last thirty five years.

At first I was not conscious that the public was going to read what I had written. I wasn'taware of the power of the Internet worldwide. I was not writting to change opinions ofanyone. At first I was not even aware that I had any influence to cause anyone to think.

After several months and reading other Bloggers, I began to realize that there are somepeople who will read what you write. Think of that! So should I write with the public inmind?162

In this respect I should keep the public in mind: How it is written. That means I shouldallow Charity to proofread the article first. For correct content, and spelling, and grammer,etc. This gives Charity a headache (not really) . She always keeps in mind those whomight read the article. While I do not necessarily give a lot of attention to how others willreact.

I have had a few critics, really, I have. Generally when the topic is doctrine, or churchministry, or pastors, or elders. Some will say, the articles are too long, or my words aretoo big to understand. Some will say, the topics are too close to the truth, about what I amwritting. Someone might read what you are saying and believe you. Believe me they arecorrect in many cases.

Today I do write with friends in mind, I do write with those who read this blog.

The only advisory panel I have as I said, is my wife, family, and John MacArthur. (notpersonally of course, but by his books). But I do have now in view that the public can findthis GROW BY LEARNING. blog and that they can also find GROW BY LEARNING.COMby a click of the mouse. Or Google. That is really scary.

Of course I welcome comments, or emails. I acknowledge that everything I write will beread by all sorts of people, and that is very sobering as well. Think about this, everything Iwrite about doctrine, the Bible, church ministry, theology, will be read by people smarterthan I, and they will be more educated than I. People will see theology, ministry from apoint of view that I haven't seen. Some will get angered by what I say, some will beagreeable. Some will even misunderstand what I am saying. Think of that!

BUT WHAT IS THE FINAL COURT OF APPEAL? (as Dan Phillips puts this) The public!My wife, John MacArthur, Eric and Leslie, Chad, Kyle, Becky? My good friends, pastors,elders! Maybe DeWayne Prosser!

When the final opinion is made, on that day of judgment, 2 Corinthians 5:10 and Hebrews4:13, the LORD will have the final judgment on what I have said, and it's not going to beby a majority vote. Leviticus 9:14 "You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling blockbefore the blind, but you shall FEAR YOUR GOD; I AM THE LORD." Leviticus 25:17"You shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your GOD, FOR I AM THE LORDYOUR GOD."

As Dan pointed : Ecclesiastes 8:2-4• I say, Keep the king's command, because of God's oath to him. Be not hasty to go

from his presence. Do not take your stand in an evil cause, for he does whatever hepleases. For the word of the king is supreme, and who may say to him, "What areyou doing?"

• Ultimately, as I have heard John MacArthur, Jr, say, if the fear of God is insufficientmotivation, then we have a problem, not soluble by committee. Bill Gothard has saidabout the "fear of the Lord": it's the motivation that should cause all of us to think.

I note that I make mistakes, it really is both humbling and a responsibility to be a ChristianBlogger, and it would be wise to listen to wise criticism without being its slave. I trust that Iwill be scholarly enough not to misktake either my critics' judgment, nor my own, forGod's.

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Approved by my proofreader....... she is back from the bakery. Updated at 8:43 p.m.


Sunday, April 27, 2008THE BIBLE EXPLAINED BY KIDS -TRUTH HAS BEEN REDEFINED!

The following is from a lady in Oregon. It ispriceless! The Bible explained by kids -truth has been redefined! You are going tolaugh.

One of our favorite jobs has been leadingjunior church. We try to do more than Baby-

sit our church’s beloved lit tle ankle-biters during their time in our special junior churchfacility. We aim to give them a solid background in biblical history. At the end of eachyear, we give them pencils and paper and ask them to chronicle what they have learned.This assignment never fails to elicit some intriguing responses. In case you’re a littlefoggy on your biblical history, let our junior church students help you with his completeoverview of the Bible, compiled from their essays:

In the beginning, which occurred near the start, there was nothing but God, darkness,and some gas. The Bible says, ‘The Lord thy God is one,’ but I think He must be a lotolder than that. Anyway, God said, ‘Give me a light!’ and someone did. Then God madethe world. He split the Adam and made Eve. Adam and Eve were naked, but they weren’tembarrassed because mirrors hadn’t been invented yet. Adam and Eve disobeyed Godby eating one bad apple, so they were driven from the Garden of Eden. Not sure whatthey were driven in though, because they didn’t have cars Adam and Eve had a son,Cain, who hated his brother as long as he was Abel.Pretty soon all of the early peopledied off, except for Methuselah, who lived to be like a million or something. One of thenext important people was Noah, who was a goo d guy , but one of his kids was kind of aham. Noah built a large boat and put his family and some animals on it. He asked someother people to join him, but they said they would have to take a rain check. ; ; ; AfterNoah came Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob was more famous than his brother, Esau,because Esau sold Jacob his birthmark in exchange for some pot roast. Jacob had a sonnamed Joseph who wore a really loud sports coat. Another important Bible guy is Moses,whose real name was Charlton Heston. Moses led the Israel Lights out of Egypt andaway from the evil Pharaoh after God sent ten plagues on Pharaoh’s people. Theseplagues included frogs, mice, lice, bowels, and no cable. God fed the Israel Lights everyday with manicotti. Then He gave them His top ten commandments. These include don’tlie, cheat, smoke, dance, or covet your neighbor’s bottom (the Bible uses a bad word forbottom that I’m not supposed to say. But my Dad uses it sometimes when he talks aboutthe President). Oh, yeah, I just thought of one more: Humor thy father and thy mother.One of Moses’ best helpers was Joshua, who was the first Bible guy to use spies. Joshuafought the battle of Geritol and the fence fell over on the town. After Joshua came David.He got to be king by killing a giant with a slingshot. He had a son named Solomon whohad about 300 wives and 500 porcupines. My teacher says he was wise, but that doesn’tsound very wise to me.

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After Solomon there were a bunch of major league prophets One of these was Jonah,who was swallowed by a big whale and then barfed up on the shore. There were alsosome minor league prophets, but I guess we don’t have to worry about them After the OldTestament came the New Testament. Jesus is the star of the New Testament. He wasborn in Bethlehem in a barn. (I wish I had been born in a barn, too, because my mom isalways saying to me, Close the door! Were you born in a barn?’ It would be nice to say ,‘As a matter of fact, I was.’)

During His life, Jesus had many arguments with sinners like the Pharisee sand theRepublicans. Jesus also had twelve opossums. The worst one was Judas Asparagus.Judas was so evil that they named a terrible vegetable after him Jesus was a great manHe healed many leopards and even preached to some Germans on the Mount. But theRepublicans and all those guys put Jesus on trial before Pontius the Pilot. Pilot didn’tstick up for Jesus. He just washed his hands instead.

Anyways, Jesus died for our sins, then came back to life again. He went up to Heaven,but will be back at the end of the Aluminum. His return is foretold in the book ofRevolution.

There! Now you understand! Those kids in the photo are Reid, Cole, and Ella Williamskids of Bryan and April WilliamsPosted by Charles E. Whisnant at 06:56AM (-05:00)


PROGRESSIVE REVELATION WITHIN ESCHATOLOGY, DISPENSATION THEOLOGYPart Two ^ We are to live with the view that Jesus Christ is LORD. We are to grow in ourKnowlege of Jesus Christ.This is not to say God is still making new revelation, He does know the beginning and theend (there will be not end, but eternity). This is not to say that God is revealing newrevelation to man today. But I would say, some events are becoming clearer to us todaythan they were, let us say sixty years ago.When the term PROGRESSIVE DISPENSATION is used theologically or biblically, theyare describing the unfolding of that administration or plan for the world in various stagesin history. I have always looked at the Scripture in view of History in stages of time. Adamto Abraham to Moses to David to Christ and then into the Kingdom.I was really brave in Seminary in teaching an after class Bible study on the sevendispensations. How a first year student could have done that, is amazing, or stupid. But Ihad been teaching that as a Youth Pastor in my home church for several years.From God’s point of view, a dispensation is an economy. From man’s point of view it is aresponsibility to the particular revelation given at the time. In other words, Adam wasasked to respond to the given revelation he was given at the time. Adam did not have allthe revelation that we have today, for example. Really.

God knows exactly what He has planned for all eternity. But even today, we do not knowvery much about the future. Daniel didn’t know a whole lot about what he was evenwriting in the book of Daniel.

• The basic truths of Scripture are in their essence present in the first 11 chapters ofGenesis, yet progressively in stages they are unfolded, explained, clarified andbrought to their fullness in the New Testament. What has been the saying, The Old 165

Testament Veiled and the New Testament Revealed.Thus, the doctrines of Creation, God’s nature and attributes, Man as created and asfallen in sin, God's covenant of redemption, the Savior - his person and work, Faith andrepentance and salvation through grace, judgment, are there from the beginning, thoughthe fullness (and along with it, the understanding) of them undergoes a gradualdevelopment through Scripture.

Because of this, we must not demand the same understanding of God's truth by an OldTestament individual as we would find in Paul or John. Because God's revelation is boththrough word and deed, there is an unfolding revelation through the events of Israel’shistory- Abraham's covenant and pilgrimage, Israel’s captivity and exodus, of judges,kings, prophets, captivity and restoration. God did not present Moses with a completesystematic theology, but He did in "nutshell" form lay out all the basic truths of the Bible.

• "This perspective of Progressive Revelation is very important to the interpreter. Hewill expect the full revelation of God in the New Testament. He will not force NewTestament meanings into the Old, yet he will be able to more fully expound the Oldknowing its counterparts in the New. He will adjust his sights to the times, customs,manners and morals of the people of God at any given state in the Old Testamentperiod of revelation; and he will be aware of the partial and elementary nature of OldTestament Revelation. . . . Progressive Revelation. . . states simply that the fullnessof revelation is in the New Testament." But at the same time we cannot think thatthe people in the Old Testament knew as much as those in the New Testament.(Bernard Ramm, Protestant Biblical Interpretation, pp. 103-104)

The applicable principles are implied already. We must look for the clearest and mostcomplete understanding in the New Testament, while recognizing that the Old 'Testamentis the progressive unfolding of those truths. The book of Hebrews helps us understandthe Old Testament ritual and sacrifices, but without the books of Exodus, Leviticus andNumbers - Hebrews would not be as meaningful. We need to see the Old Testamentfrom the New Testament understanding, without imposing that understanding on the OldTestament saint.

Henricksen expresses the important principle of progressive revelation quite simply: "Goddoes progressively reveal himself as history unfolds. But this does not mean that God’sstandards become progressively higher or that God changes along the way. Rather it isour understanding of God and His revelation that progresses. God never changes."(Laymen's Guide to Interpreting the Bible, P. 77)

If we apply this principle of progressive dispensational theology its going to lead us to:Your theology is going to lead you in a certain direction.

Applying progressive dispensational theology leads you to distinguish God’s program forIsrael from His program for the church. Therefore, the church of the N.T. is not in the O.T.Israel of the O.T. is not the same as in the N.T. This will guide your interpretation ofScripture different from other systems of interpretation.

If you see Israel and the Church as the same, you are going to view Revelation differentfrom what I would. You are not going to see even an Antichrist with this point of view. Youare likely to view Revelation as Historical rather than future. You are not going to see a166

1000 year millennial reign of Christ. Most do not even see a "rapture" nor a Tribulation asspoken in Revelation.

• If you apply progressive dispensational thinking you are going to see that Israel isto have a future program with God. There is going to be the "rapture" of the truebeliever; there is going to be a seven-year Tribulation.

• There is going to be a man of sin who will reign and then be defeated, and theworld as we know it will be destroyed. Then God will take back the earth from Satanand give it to Christ to reign for a thousand years.


Monday, April 28, 2008STEPHEN SIGMAN AND CHARLESWHISNANT^Stephen is finishing up his senior year andwill be attendingLiberty University in Lynchburg, Virginiain the fall of 2008



PROGRESSIVE REVELATION WITHIN ESCHATOLOGY, DISPENSATION THEOLOGYpart three .Covenant or Reformed Theology Versus Dispensationalism..Oh brother, not another dissertation on doctrine!? Many of us have that attitude when itcomes to these "high-fa-lootin'" multi-syllable theological words. But we all practice whatwe believe to be true, therefore doctrine does make a difference!EXPLANATIONS ABOUT SALVATION

• But I need to add here, I am not speaking of many ways of SALVATION. Eachperiod, each dispensation, each administrative arraignments had sufficientrevelation so that a person could be right with God. Adam was not given the RomanRoad of Salvation. Moses was not given one verse from the N.T. for salvation. Theterm "By faith believe in Jesus Christ and you will be saved." is not found in the OldTestament. This does not mean salvation has not always been by God’s grace. Thebasis of salvation in every dispensation is the death of Christ; the requirement forsalvation in every age is faith, the object of faith in every age is Christ. BUT, thecontent of faith changes in the various dispensations. Abraham had faith to believe,it was counted unto him as righteousness.. The information that he received in histime, and he believed, was counted unto him as faith. (Romans 4)

The Bible teaches this: Jesus said that he had not come to abolish the Law and theProphets (i.e. the Old Testament) but to fulfill. (Matt 5:17-19) Paul speaks of God sendingHis Son when the fullness of time came. (Gal 4:4). Hebrews 1:1,2 reflects this as well.Jesus on the Road to Emmaus opened up the Old Testament and showed how it spoke

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of Him from the beginning.In other words, the entire O.T. was the unfolding of God’s plan of redemption of mankind,in stagesSome examples of the progressive nature of revelation:The doctrine of redemption.

• The initial promise of the Gospel is Gen 3:15- the seed of the woman will crush thehead of the serpent, though bruised on the heel. (cf. Rom 16:20, Rev. l2:9; 20: 3,10on the serpent, Isa 7:14, 9: 6,7, Mt 1:18f, Rev. 12:1-9 on the seed of the woman.)The blood sacrificial system was to teach of the necessity of the redeemer tosacrifice his life for the salvation of his people. "The patriarchal, sacrificial systemand later the entire levitical ritual, point forward to Christ and His redeeming work.The plan of salvation develops with ever increasing clarity and fullness as themessages of the prophets and the Psalms are historically unfolded. In such apassage as Isaiah 53 the richness of the Gospel is almost complete." Buswell,,Systematic Theology, p. 382,383. God progressively expands man'scomprehension of the Savior that when He came in the fullness of time- man wasready to recognize Him and understand His coming

The Varied Uses of the Divine Names• "The revealed names of God connect the knowledge of God in a special way with

his creation of the universe and with his redemptive deeds of Israel and thefounding of the Christian church. . . the truly remarkable factors in the disclosure ofGod’s names are these: that the Living God transcendently and absolutely discloseshis name in historical revelation and that the successively revealed names of Godsignal distinctive epochs in the progressive manifestation of God's redemptivepurpose. The fact that the Hebrew people come to know God now by one thenanother revealed name bears its own testimony to the enlarging significance ofthese names. Viewed from the side of human comprehension, no single namewholly expresses God's being. The many names reveal his perfection, purposesand personal distinctions. . . . Yet we shall see that the Hebrew-Christian revelationnot only periodically unveils new names for the living God, but that in successiveperiods of redemptive history, earlier names of God are retained side-by-side withlater names. Later divine disclosure does not annul the force and significance of theearlier names, for God does not deny himself in the progressive revelation of hisnames," (Carl. F.H. Henry, God, Revelation and Authority, pp. 180, 181-182)

God’s Covenant of Redemption,• The basic covenant is expressed perhaps best in Gen17:7 "And I will establish my

covenant between me and you and your descendants after you throughout theirgenerations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendantsafter you." is progressively repeated in the history of God's dealings with man:Adam (Gen 3:15), Noah (Gen 9), Abraham (Gen 17), at Sinai (Exo 19 & 20), withLevi (Num 25:12,13) and David (II Sam 7) and is in essence the New Covenant(Jere 31:31-34, cf. Hebr 8, cf. Mt 26:28, Lk 22:20) and the Covenant of Peace (Ezekl6:60, 34:25). The Scripture comes to its climax in Rev. 21:3 with the fulfillment ofthat covenant: "Behold the tabernacle of God is among men and He shall dwellamong them, and they shall be his peoples, and God Himself will be among them."The relationship man was created to have, though lost through the fall, is restored inChrist, and will be brought to fulfillment in the New Heaven and Earth. God'srevelation of this is, in the successive stages of Biblical history, expanded andclarified- though it is there from the beginning.

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Wednesday, April 30, 2008DISPENSATIONALISM AND PREMILLENNIALISMand Covenant Theology part four .DO YOU BELIEVE WHAT YOUR PASTOR HAS PREACHED FOR TWENTY YEARS?orHAS NOT PREACHED BUT BELIEVES?^

• "Oh brother, where art thou." not another dissertation on doctrine!? Many of ushave that attitude when it comes to these "high-fa-lootin'" multi-syllable theologicalwords. But we all practice what we believe to be true, therefore doctrine does makea difference! You need to know what your preacher is preaching! Often they are notwilling to spell out what they are teaching. Oh I am not talking about JerermiahWright, or am I.

.Magnitudes of articles have been written explaining the teachings of both covenanttheology and dispensationalism. This information hereper is not intended to define thesesystems of interpretation. .A Bit of History .In order to understand the development of covenant theology, we need to take a brieflook at church history.Some covenant theologians would have us believe that their belief system was that of thefounding fathers of the early church. They try to make a case that dispensationalism is amere infant when compared to the grand old scheme of covenant theology. However, thetruth of the matter is that systematized covenant theology is actually of recent origin.Cornelius Van Til, a covenant theologian, admits, "the idea of covenant theology has onlyin modern times been broadly conceived." Louis Berkhof, another covenant theologian,wrote, "In the early Church Fathers the covenant idea is not found at all." Dr. Ryrie pointsout:. It [covenant theology] was not the expressed doctrine of the early church. It was nevertaught by church leaders in the Middle Ages. It was not even mentioned by the primaryleaders of the Reformation. Indeed, covenant theology as a system is only a little olderthan dispensationalism. That does not mean it is not biblical, but it does dispel the notionthat covenant theology has been throughout all church history the ancient guardian of thetruth that is only recently being sniped at by dispensationalism.. Covenant theology does not appear in the writings of Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, orMelanchthon…… There were no references to covenant theology in any of the greatconfessions of faith until the Westminster Confession in 1647, and even then covenanttheology was not as fully developed as it was later by Reformed theologians. Thecovenant (or federal) theory arose sporadically and apparently independently late in thesixteenth century.. Yet having said all this, much of the erroneous teachings of covenant theology can findits roots centuries earlier.. For the first three centuries the predominant belief of the early church was that JesusChrist would literally return to the earth to reign for a thousand years. A number ofhistorians have documented this belief of the early church Fathers. The evidence isindisputable. However, around 170 A.D. certain factors began to undermine the belief ofChrist's literal return to establish a physical earthly kingdom.. The book of Revelation written by the Apostle John ends with the Lord Jesus declaring,"Behold, I come quickly (20:20)". About a hundred years had passed and this promisehad yet to be fulfilled. Obviously, something was wrong! Some church leaders in AsiaMinor decided to reject the book of Revelation from the canon of scripture. They mayhave reasoned that this supposed declaration by Jesus must somehow be false. Inactuality there were a number of factors that influenced them in their decision to rejectRevelation from the canon of scripture: 169

. · A certain group of Christians had taken their premillennial beliefs to an unhealthyextreme. Therefore anyone who believed that Jesus would return to establish a literalkingdom upon earth was viewed with suspicion.. · Many early Christians taught that Christ would soon return and crush the Romanpower that was ruling the empire. Some of the leaders of the early church felt that itwould be better to sacrifice their premillennial belief rather than face more intensepersecution.. · There was also a strong anti-Semitic spirit in the eastern church. The thought of Christregathering Israel to their land was an abomination to them.. · A new method of Biblical interpretation known as Alexandrian theology greatlychanged the view of scripture. Origen (185-254) and other scholars in Alexandriadeveloped a system of Biblical interpretation based on allegory. Origen and hiscontemporaries were greatly influenced by pagan Greek philosophy. They tried tointegrate this into their theology. . According to Greek philosophy all physical matter wasinherently evil. Therefore the idea of a literal earthy, millennium with physical blessingscould only be erroneous. This allegorical or spiritualizing method of interpretation allowedthese theologians to read almost any meaning they desired into the Bible. Thus theywere able to do away with a literal return of Christ to establish a physical earthlymillennial kingdom.. All of these factors set the stage for the rejection of premillennialism. In the early days ofhis Christian faith Augustine (354-430) was premillennial. However, through time heabandoned the idea of a literal return of Christ to establish a physical kingdom on earth.He used this new allegorical method of interpretation to explain away the literal return ofChrist and thus amillennialism was born. In his book, The City of God, Augustine taughtthat the Universal Church is the Messianic Kingdom and that the millennium began withChrist's first coming. When the church lost the hope of the imminent return of Christ itplunged headlong into the dark ages. The seeds of false interpretation bore fruit givingrise to Roman Catholicism and a works-based religion. Augustine's amillennial teachingcontinued to be the standard view of organized Christendom until the 17th century.Occasionally premillennial groups challenged that doctrine through out the dark ages, butthey were a small voice compared to the powerful Roman Catholic church.. On October 31, 1517 Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-five Theses on the door of theCastle Church in Wittenberg. One of the primary factors that caused him to break awayfrom the Roman Catholic Church was his understanding of Sola Fide——the doctrine thatman is justified by faith alone without works. Through Luther and the reformers, Godrestored the doctrine of salvation by grace back to His true church. The reformersunderstood grace in regard to salvation, but for Christian living they fell into the Galatianerror of works. They knew that they couldn't keep the law in order to gain salvation, butthe law became the rule for living the Christian life. Little did they realize thatsanctification is also by grace will continuePosted by Charles E. Whisnant at 06:38AM (-05:00)

Wednesday, April 30, 2008 Mom lives with my sister Ellen and her husband Hershel. They have been taken care ofmom for a number of years. Mom likes to eat. As a matter of fact , Mom likes to eat threetimes a day. And if you set at the breakfast table for very long, she will want dinner in afew hours.MY MOTHERPosted by Charles E. Whisnant at 08:44AM (-05:00)

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